FCC Appoints New Chief Technology Officer

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai today named Eric Burger the agency’s chief technology officer. Burger will advise Pai and the agency on technology and engineering issues, together with the Office of Engineering and Technology. Burger will replace Henning Schulzrinne, who returned to Columbia University. Burger is expected to start work at the FCC this month.

“The FCC’s work lies at the crossroads of technology and policy.  That makes it vital that we have at our disposal the technological expertise to make the right policy calls for the American people,” said Pai. “I am pleased that Eric has agreed to join our team and lend us his vast expertise. From stopping robocalls to facilitating the transition to next-generation networks, the FCC has important work to do for American consumers, and I’m grateful that we are adding such skill and experience to our team.”

The FCC’s chief technology officer serves as an adviser to the chairman and as the senior technology expert in the agency. The position is housed within the FCC’s Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis. 

Prior to joining the FCC, Burger was director of the Security and Software Engineering Research Center in Washington. The center helps propose solutions to network problems like robocalling, rural call completion, accessibility of communications for Americans with hearing and speech impairments, reducing the cost of deploying and operating communications networks, and ensuring communication network security and stability. He holds patents in telecommunications and is an expert in standards for telecommunications, network, and Internet technologies.

Burger has also held senior engineering and technology positions in various telecommunications companies and served as a technology consultant to others. He has also taught computer science at Georgetown University, George Mason University and The George Washington University.

He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Illinois Institute of Technology, an MBA from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, and bachelor’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.