Guide Note

Vint Cerf is an American computer scientist who pioneered new technologies in the early days of the internet. Because of his work, he is known as one of the founding fathers of the internet¹. Cerf is currently an activist for internet policy, and is also Google's Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist.

Fast Facts

1. Full name: Vinton G. Cerf
2. Born: June 23, 1943 in New Haven, Connecticut
3. Earned a Mathematics degree from Stanford
4. Worked for IBM as a systems engineer
5. Earned a Master's Degree and his PhD from UCLA
6. Co-inventor of the internet protocol, TCP/IP
7. Founding member of the Internet Society (ISOC)²
8. Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist for Google
9. Is working with NASA to develop Interplanetary Internet
10. Has won awards such as the National Medal of Technology, Turing Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom
11. Has a hearing impairment

Cerf worked with fellow computer scientist Robert E. Khan to develop TCP/IP, a set of computer communication protocols that enabled users to simply and reliably network their computers together. For pioneering this technology, Cerf and Khan are both honored as the founding fathers of the internet.

Cerf is currently working with NASA on the Interplanetary Internet project, which seeks to develop interplanetary network protocols using radio and laser transmission. He is also involved in internet activism. In 1995, he co-founded the Internet Society (ISOC) which promotes worldwide internet development standards.² In February 2006, he testified before the U.S. Senate's Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation's Hearing regarding Network Neutrality.³