Vinton Cerf

Google

Vinton Cerf is an American computer scientist and Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist at Google. Together with Robert Kahn, he co-invented the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP)—collectively TCP/IP—the foundational communication protocols of the modern internet. The Cerf-Kahn paper of 1974 described a protocol for internetworking: a method for connecting heterogeneous computer networks through packet switching and a layered protocol architecture that allowed different physical networks to interoperate seamlessly. TCP/IP's design principles—robustness, decentralization, and end-to-end intelligence—enabled the internet to grow from a small research network (ARPANET) into the global infrastructure connecting billions of devices today. Cerf shared the 2004 Turing Award with Robert Kahn for this foundational work. After pioneering TCP/IP at DARPA, Cerf worked at MCI Communications, where he helped develop the first commercial email system (MCI Mail) connected to the internet, and served as president of the Internet Society. At Google since 2005, he serves as an ambassador and advocate for internet access, security, and governance. Cerf has been involved in initiatives for archiving digital information, extending internet access to the developing world, and developing interplanetary internet protocols for NASA's deep space communication needs. He has received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences.