Name: Vinton Gray “Vint” Cerf

Born: June 23, 1943, in New Haven, Connecticut, USA

  • American computer scientist, who is referred to as one of “the fathers of the Internet.”
  • While working at MCI he was instrumental in the development of the first commercial e-mail system (MCI Mail) connected to the Internet.
  • He worked with the networking group that connected the first two nodes of the ARPAnet, the predecessor to the Internet, and “contributed to a host-to-host protocol” for the ARPAnet.
  • With Bob Kahn helped create the Transmission Control Protocol and the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
  • In 1992, he co-founded the Internet Society.
  • Cerf has worked for Google as a vice president and chief Internet evangelist since September 2005.

Honors and awards

  • Presidential Medal of Freedom (with Bob Kahn) (2005).
  • Turing Award (2004).
  • Marconi Prize (1998).
  • IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal (1997).
  • National Medal of Technology (1997).
  • Member, National Academy of Engineering (1995).
  • Fellow, ACM (1994).
  • Fellow, IEEE (1988).
  • Bob Kahn
  • Peter Kirstein