Megan Smith

3rd Chief Technology Officer of the United States & Former VP at Google [x]

Lifespan 1964–

Technical Depth beginner

Key Breakthrough Google Earth / Maps Acquisition Scaling & Federal Open Data Architecture

Focus Areas

civic technology geospatial systems public policy

Topic Keywords

#us-cto #google #civic-tech #open-data #public-policy

Source: Historical Biographical Archive / Wikimedia Commons

Megan Smith

3rd Chief Technology Officer of the United States & Former VP at Google [x]

Biographical Overview

Appointed by President Obama as the 3rd Chief Technology Officer of the United States (2014–2017). An MIT mechanical engineer, Smith was previously Vice President at Google and VP at Google [x], where she oversaw the acquisitions of Keyhole (Google Earth) and Where2 (Google Maps).

"Technology is a team sport. When you include everyone in building the tools, the solutions work for everyone."
— Megan Smith

Lifespan 1964–

Technical Depth beginner

Key Breakthrough Google Earth / Maps Acquisition Scaling & Federal Open Data Architecture

Focus Areas

civic technology geospatial systems public policy

Topic Keywords

#us-cto #google #civic-tech #open-data #public-policy

Source: Historical Biographical Archive / Wikimedia Commons

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Historical Context & Impact

In short

While studying mechanical engineering at MIT, Smith was a key member of the MIT Solar Car team that designed and built "Solectria 5," racing the vehicle 2,000 miles across the Australian Outback in the grueling World Solar Challenge.

Key Technical Breakthroughs & Inventions

Keyhole & Google Earth Acquisition Led Google's acquisition of Keyhole, Inc., transforming defense satellite imaging into Google Earth and laying the foundation for modern geospatial mobile computing.

3rd U.S. Chief Technology Officer (2014–2017) Advised President Obama on federal IT modernization, net neutrality preservation, open government data, and computer science education for all students.

Google.org & Tech Inclusion Initiatives Co-founded Google's "Women Techmakers" program and directed philanthropic investments into open-source STEM education globally.

shift7 Co-Founding Co-founded shift7 to deploy open-source technology, data collaboration, and systemic innovation to address global economic inequality and climate change.