Vint Cerf
Born 1943 · Age 82
American computer scientist and Internet pioneer, co-designer of TCP/IP and frequently called one of the "fathers of the Internet." Longtime executive, advisor and public advocate for Internet standards, accessibility, and global connectivity.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in New Haven, Connecticut
Vinton Gray Cerf was born to Muriel (née Gray) and Vinton Thruston Cerf in New Haven, Connecticut.
Attended Van Nuys High School (approx.)
Attended Van Nuys High School where he was a classmate of Steve Crocker and Jon Postel (approximate attendance years based on birth year).
Worked at Rocketdyne on Apollo program (high-school summer)
Worked for six months at Rocketdyne writing statistical analysis software for non-destructive tests of the F-1 engines (during high school).
Graduated Stanford University (B.S. Mathematics)
Received a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Stanford University.
Joined IBM as Systems Engineer
Worked at IBM as a systems engineer supporting QUIKTRAN for two years after graduating from Stanford.
Married Sigrid
Married Sigrid (they later had two sons, David and Bennett). Both have hearing deficiencies and met at a hearing aid agent's practice in the 1960s.
RFC Publications (multiple early RFCs)
Authored multiple foundational RFCs in 1969–1971 (e.g., RFC 13, 18, 20, 22, RFC 163 in May 1971) contributing to ARPANET host and control protocols.
Authored RFC 13 (Zero Text Length EOF Message)
Published early RFC (Request for Comments) contributing to ARPANET protocol documentation.
Authored RFC 18 (IMP-IMP and HOST-HOST Control Links)
Another early RFC contributing to ARPANET protocols.
Authored RFCs 20 & 22 (ASCII format & Host-host control messages)
Contributed to early ARPANET RFCs on formats and control messages.
Earned M.S., UCLA (Computer Science)
Completed Master of Science in Computer Science at UCLA.
Published 'Data transfer protocols' (RFC 163)
Published RFC 163 (May 1971), contributing to ARPANET protocol development and testing.
Joined Stanford as Assistant Professor
Served as assistant professor (1972–1976) conducting research on packet network interconnection protocols.
Earned Ph.D., UCLA (Computer Science)
Completed Ph.D. with thesis 'Multiprocessors, Semaphores, and a Graph Model of Computation' under Gerald Estrin.
Began ARPANET/internet work (DARPA contractor)
By 1973 was under contract to carry out internet research and fund groups developing TCP/IP, PRNET, SATNET, and security technologies.
Co-authored seminal TCP/IP paper (IEEE Trans. Communications)
Published 'A Protocol for Packet Network Intercommunication' with Bob Kahn (May 1974), outlining the internet architecture.
Published RFC 675 (Specification of Internet Transmission Control Program)
Authored Specification of Internet Transmission Control Program (TCP) with Yogen Dalal and Carl Sunshine (RFC 675, Dec 1974).
Joined DARPA IPTO as Program Manager
Moved to DARPA's Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO) to manage networking projects (official program manager role circa 1976).
Experimental interconnection of ARPANET, PRNET and SATNET
Oversaw implementations that connected ARPANET, packet radio (PRNET) and packet satellite (SATNET) — the first incarnation of the Internet.
Left DARPA; Joined MCI as VP Digital Information Services
Became Vice President of Digital Information Services at MCI (1982–1986), leading engineering of MCI Mail.
ARPANET migration to TCP/IP
Oversaw and contributed to the changeover of ARPANET sites from NCP to TCP/IP, a critical milestone in internet adoption.
Joined CNRI (Corporation for National Research Initiatives) as Vice President
Joined Bob Kahn at CNRI as vice president working on digital libraries, knowledge robots, and gigabit networks (1986–1994).
Advocated for privatization of the Internet
Began lobbying publicly (since 1988) for privatization of the Internet to enable mass public adoption and economic sustainability.
MCI Mail connected to the Internet (first commercial email service)
MCI Mail, engineered under Cerf's leadership at MCI, became the first commercial e-mail service connected to the Internet.
Organizational milestone: ISOC houses IETF
Under ISOC's founding leadership, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) found institutional home and continued standards development (early 1990s).
Co-founded the Internet Society (ISOC)
Founded ISOC with Bob Kahn and others to provide leadership in education, policy and standards for the Internet; served as first president (1992–1995).
Rejoined MCI as Senior Vice President
Returned to MCI in 1994 and served as Senior Vice President of Technology Strategy (1994–2005).
Elected to National Academy of Engineering
Elected as a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering for contributions to network protocols and Internet evolution (election year 1995).
Received IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal
Awarded IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal in 1997 (shared recognition for communications contributions).
Awarded National Medal of Technology (with Bob Kahn)
Presented the U.S. National Medal of Technology by President Bill Clinton in December 1997 for creating and sustaining Internet protocols.
Joined Board of Trustees, Gallaudet University
Joined the board of trustees of Gallaudet University in 1997, a university for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.
Awarded Marconi Prize
Received the Marconi Prize in 1998 in recognition of leadership and contributions to communications technology.
Chairman of ICANN Board (November 2000 – November 2007)
Served as ICANN chairman from November 2000 until departure from the board in November 2007 (board membership 1999–2007).
Joined ICANN Board of Directors
Helped fund and establish ICANN; joined ICANN's board in 1999 (served until November 2007).
Awarded Charles Stark Draper Prize (Draper Prize)
Recipient of the Charles Stark Draper Prize (listed among his major recognitions around 2001 in some sources; included here as award around 2001 era).
Received Living Legend Medal from Library of Congress; Fellow of Computer History Museum
Awarded Living Legend Medal (April 2000) and made a Fellow of the Computer History Museum in 2000.
Recognitions and honorary degrees continue
Received various honorary doctorates and awards across institutions (continues expansion of recognition through early 2000s).
Co-authored 'Al Gore and the Internet' (2000) commentary and public engagement
Authored/collaborated on public commentary concerning political/technical interactions about the Internet around 2000 (ex: 'Al Gore and the Internet' dated 2000-09-28).
Patent: Internet Radio Communication System (US 6,418,138)
Co-inventor on U.S. Patent 6,418,138 for Internet Radio Communication System (filed/granted in 2002).
Patent: System for Distributed Task Execution (US 6,574,628)
Co-inventor on U.S. Patent 6,574,628 for a system enabling distributed task execution (granted June 3, 2003).
Awarded ACM A. M. Turing Award (with Bob Kahn)
Received the Turing Award for pioneering work on internetworking and leadership in networking (2004).
Joined Google as Vice President & Chief Internet Evangelist
Hired by Google in October 2005; role includes global policy, standardization, and public-facing evangelism about the Internet.
Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom (with Bob Kahn)
Received the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush in November 2005 for creation of the Internet.
Appointed Chair, Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (NIST) (2006–2013)
Served as Chair of the Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology for NIST during 2006–2013 (per NIST biography).
Became Visiting Scientist at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (since 1998 appointment ongoing)
Holds appointment as distinguished visiting scientist at JPL and collaborates on Interplanetary Internet and DTN research (appointed 1998, active through 2000s–2010s).
Honor: St. Cyril and Methodius Order & Honorary STC Fellow
Awarded the St. Cyril and Methodius in the Coat of Arms Order (July 2006) and made an Honorary Fellow of the Society for Technical Communication (May 2006).
Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame
Inducted with Robert Kahn (May 2006) for invention of core Internet technologies.
Left ICANN Board (November 2007)
Departed the ICANN board in November 2007 after serving on the board since 1999 and as chairman from 2000.
Awarded the Japan Prize (with Bob Kahn)
Received the Japan Prize in January 2008 for contributions to information and communications technology.
Contender for U.S. Chief Technology Officer
Was a major contender to be designated the first U.S. Chief Technology Officer by President Barack Obama (2008 discussions).
Received Harold Pender Award and IEEE-HKN Eminent Membership
Received the Harold Pender Award (2010) and was made an Eminent Member of IEEE-HKN.
Became Chairman of ARIN Board of Trustees (Chair until 2016)
Served as chairman of the board of trustees of ARIN (Regional Internet Registry) from 2011 to 2016.
Distinguished Fellow, British Computer Society
Made a distinguished fellow of BCS in recognition of outstanding contribution and service to computing (Sept 2011).
Inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame (Pioneer)
Inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame as a Pioneer in 2012.
Public speaking and policy testimony (e.g., Net Neutrality 2006 Senate testimony earlier)
On February 7, 2006 testified before the U.S. Senate on net neutrality; continued to be a frequent speaker at major conferences and policy venues throughout 2010s.
Elected President of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Elected ACM president in May 2012; served a two-year term beginning July 1, 2012 (2012–2014).
Appointed to the National Science Board
U.S. President announced intent to appoint Cerf to the National Science Board; he served a six-year term beginning May 2012 through May 2018.
Delivered Bernard Price Memorial Lecture
Presented the Bernard Price Memorial Lecture in 2013 (recognised public technical lecture).
Co-recipient of Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering
Awarded the inaugural Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering (2013) along with four others for contributions to the Internet & web.
Officer of the French Légion d'honneur
Awarded the rank of Officer of the French Légion d'honneur in 2014 for contributions to science and technology.
Joined Board of Governors, Folger Shakespeare Library
Named a member of the Board of Governors of the Folger Shakespeare Library in 2015.
Co-founded People-Centered Internet (PCI)
Co-founded (with Mei Lin Fung) the People-Centered Internet in 2015 and chaired it until December 2019.
Elected Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS)
Elected a Foreign Member of the UK Royal Society in 2016 in recognition of scientific achievement.
Delay-Tolerant Networking installed on the International Space Station
Work with NASA led to delay-tolerant networking (DTN) being installed on the ISS in June 2016, advancing Interplanetary Internet research.
Awarded Catalonia's International Award
Received Catalonia's International Award in 2018 recognizing global contributions to technology and society.
Received Benjamin Franklin Medal
Named a recipient of the Benjamin Franklin Medal in 2018.
Stepped down as PCI Chair (December 2019)
Served as Chair of the People-Centered Internet from its founding in 2015 through December 2019.
Awarded IEEE Medal of Honor
Awarded the IEEE Medal of Honor in 2023 for co-creating the Internet architecture and leadership in its growth.
Inducted into the California Hall of Fame
Inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 2024 in recognition of his innovations and public service.
Continued public advocacy on digital preservation and risks of a 'digital Dark Age'
Public warnings and advocacy about long-term digital preservation and risks of loss of digital heritage continue through mid-2020s.
Key Achievement Ages
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