Microsoft SQL Server(TM) architect Pedro Celis has been appointed by President George W. Bush to serve a two-year term on the President’s Information and Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC). The committee will help guide the administration’s efforts to accelerate the development and adoption of information technologies considered vital for U.S. prosperity in the 21st century.
According to the White House, the members of PITAC, who are leading IT experts from industry and academia, will provide the president with “expert, independent advice” on maintaining America’s “preeminence in advanced information technologies.” The 25-member committee will focus on national IT infrastructure topics that include high-performance computing, large-scale networking, and high-assurance software and systems design.
PITAC was established by executive order and is chartered by Congress under the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 and the Next Generation Internet Research Act of 1998.
A holder of 10 U.S. patents, Celis was born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico. He holds an engineering degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and advanced math and computer science degrees from the University of Waterloo in Canada.
Salesforce.com Chairman and CEO Marc Benioff and Edward D. Lazowska, chairman of the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington, serve as c-chairs of the committee.
