Vinton Cerf

Recognized as one of the "fathers of the Internet," Cerf co-designed (with Robert E. Kahn) TCP/IP. This computer networking protocol was used for communications between the diverse university, government, and commercial data networks known collectively as the Internet. From 1976 to 1982, Cerf played a key role at the U.S. Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency, where he sponsored the development of Internet and Internet-related data packet and security technologies. As vice president of MCI Digital Information Services from 1982 to 1986, Cerf acted as the chief engineer of MCI Mail, the first commercial e-mail service connected to the Internet. Currently senior vice president of architecture and technology for WorldCom, Cerf leads a team in designing advanced networking frameworks.