2002 Vinton Gray Cerf

Vinton Gray Cerf
Senior Vice President of Internet Architecture and Technology
WorldCom

“The good thing about the Internet is that everything is connected, and the bad thing about the Internet is that everything is connected.”
– Vinton Cerf, “Father of the Internet”

Vinton Cerf’s lifetime achievements in the field of communication networks exemplify the vision and purpose of the Paul Evan Peters award. Known as a “father of the Internet” for his work co-designing TCP/IP protocols and the architecture of the Internet, Cerf is widely appreciated for his ability to envision, engineer, and express the intricacies and vast potential of networked communications and technologies. He has played leadership roles in such national Internet-related organizations as the Internet Society, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), and the Internet Societal Task Force. Among his current commitments are service on the U.S. Presidential Information Technology Advisory Committee and boards of nearly a dozen educational and corporate organizations including the Endowment for Excellence in Education, Folger Shakespeare Library, and Gallaudet University. A frequent speaker and prolific writer, he regularly publishes timely, engaging essays through his “Cerf’s Up” feature on the WorldCom Web site. Numerous awards and fellowships recognize the diversity of his work to advance Internet technologies and their social uses. A principal for the Global Internet Project, distinguished visiting scientist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and science fiction fan, Cerf’s far-reaching visions for networked communications fuel his current work on the design of an interplanetary Internet.

Note: This information was originally posted at the time the winner was named and is not being updated.