Radia Perlman
Born 1951 · Age 74
American computer programmer, network engineer and inventor best known for inventing the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP). Major contributor to network routing, bridging, security and education; author and holder of 100+ patents; inductee of multiple halls of fame.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Portsmouth, Virginia
Radia Joy Perlman was born in Portsmouth, Virginia.
Music award recognized (piano)
Named as one of the winners of the Monmouth Arts Foundation Merit Award for piano (local newspaper report).
Graduated Ocean Township High School
Completed secondary education at Ocean Township High School.
First paid programming job at MIT LOGO Lab
Hired as a part-time programmer at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (LOGO Lab), programming system software such as debuggers.
Started TORTIS / tangible computing work
Began work at the Logo Lab under Seymour Papert and later created TORTIS (Toddler's Own Recursive Turtle Interpreter System) to teach very young children programming.
Earned SB in Mathematics from MIT
Completed Bachelor of Science in Mathematics at MIT.
TORTIS research with young children (ongoing 1974-76)
Conducted research (1974–1976) showing toddlers (as young as 3½) programming a Logo turtle through tangible interfaces; considered pioneering tangible user interfaces.
Earned SM (M.S.) in Mathematics from MIT
Completed a Master of Science in Mathematics at MIT.
Joined Bolt, Beranek & Newman (BBN)
Took a position designing network protocols at BBN (government contractor for networking equipment); first full-time post-M.S. engineering job.
Joined Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)
Hired by DEC after impressing a DEC manager while presenting on network routing; began work on DECnet and related routing and bridging protocols.
Invented the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)
While at DEC, devised the spanning tree algorithm and protocol (STP) to detect and disable redundant links so Ethernet bridges avoid loops; foundational to modern LAN bridging.
Published STP algorithm paper in ACM SIGCOMM CCR
Published 'An Algorithm for Distributed Computation of a Spanning Tree in an Extended LAN' in ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review (Sept 1985).
Ph.D. in Computer Science from MIT
Awarded Ph.D.; doctoral thesis 'Network layer protocols with Byzantine robustness' (advisor David D. Clark) addressing routing in presence of malicious failures.
Named one of 20 Most Influential People (Data Communications magazine)
Included in Data Communications magazine's 20th anniversary list of 20 most influential people in the industry (Jan 15, 1992 issue).
Left DEC and joined Novell
Departed Digital and took a position at Novell to work on information exchange and security.
Joined Sun Microsystems
Left Novell and joined Sun Microsystems; work specialized in network and security protocols.
Again named among 20 Most Influential People (Data Communications)
Appeared in Data Communications magazine's 25th anniversary list (Jan 15, 1997), the only person named in both anniversary issues.
Interconnections textbook (2nd ed.) published
Publication of 'Interconnections: Bridges, Routers, Switches, and Internetworking Protocols' (2nd edition; widely used networking textbook authored by Perlman).
Honorary Doctorate from KTH (Royal Institute of Technology)
Received an honorary doctorate from the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden (June 28, 2000).
Silicon Valley Inventor of the Year (SVIPLA)
Named Inventor of the Year by the Silicon Valley Intellectual Property Law Association (SVIPLA).
Started TRILL work to replace shortcomings of STP
Began work (publicized mid-2000s) on TRILL (Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links) to allow Ethernet to use shortest paths and multipathing instead of a single spanning tree.
Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Award (Innovation)
Received the first Women of Vision Award for Innovation from the Anita Borg Institute (2005).
USENIX Lifetime Achievement Award
Awarded a lifetime achievement award by USENIX for contributions to computing and networking.
Distinguished Engineer at Sun; ~40 patents at Sun
Held title of Distinguished Engineer at Sun Microsystems; credited with around 40 patents while at Sun by this time.
Named IEEE Fellow
Elected IEEE Fellow in 2008 for contributions to network routing and security protocols.
Sun Microsystems acquired by Oracle (company milestone impacting role)
Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems in 2009 — organizational change in workplace; Perlman later left Sun/Oracle after a long tenure.
SIGCOMM Lifetime Achievement Award
Received lifetime achievement award from ACM SIGCOMM (2010) for work on routing and bridging protocols.
Left Sun and joined Intel as Intel Fellow
After ~13 years at Sun, joined Intel Corporation as an Intel Fellow (2010).
Became Director of Network Security Technology at Intel
Promoted/appointed Intel's director of network security technology (2011); co-authored TRILL RFC in July 2011.
RFC 6325: Routing Bridges (TRILL) published
RFC 6325 (Routing Bridges / TRILL) published (July 2011) — formal standardization/specification for TRILL (Perlman as one of the authors).
USENIX / community recognition (ongoing keynote & teaching roles)
Delivered numerous keynote talks worldwide and taught courses at MIT, Harvard, University of Washington and Texas A&M (dates across career).
Inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame
Recognized as a pioneer and inductee of the Internet Hall of Fame (2014) for major contributions to Internet infrastructure.
Joined EMC as Industry Fellow
Joined EMC Corporation as its first Industry Fellow (2014); EMC later merged with Dell.
Elected ACM Fellow (class of 2016)
Named Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery, class of 2016.
Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame
Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame (2016) for inventions including STP (listed patents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,086,428 and 7,339,900).
EMC and Dell merger (workplace became Dell Technologies)
EMC merged with Dell (Sep 2016), forming Dell Technologies; Perlman became a Fellow at Dell EMC / Dell Technologies in subsequent years.
Elected Member, National Academy of Engineering
Elected to the NAE in 2019 for contributions to Internet routing and bridging protocols.
Co-author: Network Security (3rd ed.) published
Co-authored Network Security: Private Communication in a Public World (3rd ed., Addison-Wesley) published September 15, 2022.
Fellow at Dell Technologies (ongoing)
Listed as a Fellow at Dell Technologies (Dell EMC) as of 2022, continuing contributions to networking and security.
Featured chapter in 'Women in the National Inventors Hall of Fame' (book chapter)
Included as Chapter 35 in 'Women in the National Inventors Hall of Fame: The First 50 Years' (2024) documenting her career and inventions.
Holds over 100 issued patents (public milestone)
Public sources report Perlman holds over 100 issued patents (various dates; counts vary by source).
Ongoing influence and speaking/teaching roles
Continues to speak at major conferences, teach and act as an industry fellow/advisor; legacy includes STP, TRILL, IS-IS improvements and textbooks.
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