The Senate Commerce Committee has voted, without dissent, to approve the nomination by President Joe Biden of Eric Lander as director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), a position Biden has, for the first time, made a cabinet level position.

OTSP advises the President and others in the Administration on science and tech.

Lander, a mathematician and molecular biologist, is on leave as president and founding director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

Committee chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) was less than enthusiastic, though, saying she would support Lander because he was the President's nominee, but said she would have "loved" to see a woman in the post. She added that "no doubt" women would still play key leadership roles.

She said importantly Lander had expressed his support for prioritizing getting more women in the science field. Cantwell said they would work "aggressively" on that. "You have to change the faces of the people doing science," she said, which will change the focus of science.

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), ranking member of the committee, said he, too, supported the nomination, particularly given Landers' pledge to provide research opportunities, regardless of what state or region (so, Mississippi as well as California, for example).

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass) provided the praise for Landers from the Democrat side. He interrupted the call for a vote to recommend the nominee highly, saying Dr. Lander a visionary, a scientist and a thinker who would serve with distinction, "a pioneer who sees unanswered questions not as barriers but as an expanse of possibility."

“American broadband providers are a community of technologists, engineers, researchers, computer scientists and cybersecurity experts helping to build a better and more connected world – work that aligns very much with the mission of OSTP," said USTelecom president Jonathan Spalter. "Our community looks forward to working with Eric Lander in his critical role leading OSTP and advising the administration and the President on the important science and technology policy debates of our time.”

The White House has unveiled a new online learning resource site, saying tech companies had risen to the occasion to create it. It is the latest effort by OSTP to leverage tech to meet the challenges presented by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). 

Related: OSTP Calls for AI Mining of COVID-19 Database 

As part of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s COVID-19 technology initiative, tech companies were asked to help make online learning resources more accessible to administrators, teachers, parents and students and the result, unveiled Wednesday (March 18), was TechforLearners.org.

“Teachers and educators across the Nation will be relying on technology now more than ever," said U.S. CTO Michael Kratsios. "During this unprecedented time, the Trump Administration is committed to ensuring America’s educators and families have the technology tools to bring classrooms online. We are grateful to the technology and education leaders who jumped into action to launch this important resource."

The site features links to 161 free and 23 discounted products and services offered by edtech companies. 

It described itself as a "searchable database for tools to support those involved in education and the workforce, at all levels, and from all communities as they scale up capabilities for online learning and continue teaching, learning, and working from home." 

U.S. Chief Technology Office Michael Kratsios has tapped an FCC veteran to a top network security post, the CTO tweeted Thursday (Nov. 21). 

Eric Burger, former Chief Technology Officer at the FCC, has been named assistant director for telecom and Cybersecurity at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), where he will focus on 5G, broadband, and telecom. 

Before joining the FCC in October 2017, Burger was director of the Georgetown site of the NSF Security and Software Engineering Research Center in Washington, which deals with issues including robocalls, network deployment and network security and stability. 

Burger is also a former CTO at various public and private internet and telecom companies, including Nuestar, MCI, Texas Instruments, and Cable & Wireless. 

“I congratulate Eric on his new position," FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said. "He did a terrific job at the Commission, and I'm glad that the American people will continue to benefit from his expertise."