AS Trump is sworn in today, the new US President has appointed a Spaniard to his government.
Murcian Dario Gil has been appointed Undersecretary of Science and Innovation at the US Department of Energy.
Born in El Palmar and raised in Madrid, Gil moved to California as a teenager, where he finished high school.
The 49-year-old earned a Bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering at Steven Institute of Technology, New Jersey, before gaining a PhD in nanotechnology at the respected Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Photo: IBM
“Dario is a brilliant scientist and businessman, with a distinguished track record as chairman of the National Science Board and senior vice president and director of IBM Research,” said Trump’s transition team on X.
He will help oversee the United State’s energy security and sustainability, as well as leading technological innovation initiatives like quantum technologies, artificial intelligence and renewable energy.
During Trump’s first presidency, Gil was part of the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).
He has also served on the governing board of the US National Science Foundation (NSF), which currently has a budget of $10 billion.
Gil worked with the House of Representatives and Senate as an advisor, providing insight on important policies such as artificial intelligence.
In 2021, he went to the White House alongside fellow Spaniard and scientist Rafael Yuste to warn against technology which can connect the human brain to computers and other devices.
“We’ll connect the brain to external computer systems,” he told El Pais.
“This will help expand your knowledge, your memory, your calculation capacity, your ability to speak other languages.”
According to the Spanish news outlet, Dario suspects it will ‘only be a matter of time’ before we are able to read other people’s minds.
“It could be used for good, to treat disabilities for instance, but we also need to think how we can regulate and manage it, because there could be very negative consequences,” he said.
He is not the only Spaniard holding an influential position in the United States, with businessmen like Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato and CEO of PepsiCo Ramon Laguarta.
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