Ethernet Inventor Wins Turing Award
Computer networking pioneer Bob Metcalfe received the industry’s most prestigious award on Wednesday for inventing Ethernet, a technology that remains the foundation of the Internet half a century after its creation.
Robert “Bob” Melancton Metcalfe, born April 7, 1946 in New York, is an American engineer, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, professor, and writer. Metcalfe is best known as an internet pioneer who co-invented Ethernet (along with David Boggs), co-founded 3Com Corporation, and introduced ‘Metcalfe’s Law.’
The Computing Association honored Metcalf, 76, for “inventing, standardizing and commercializing Ethernet” by awarding him the 2022 Turing Award, also known as the “Nobel Prize of Computer Science.” The prize is $1 million thanks to the support of Google.
Robert Metcalfe first wrote a memorandum explaining how Ethernet would work on May 22, 1973.
While Wi-Fi continues to gain popularity, Ethernet continues to be widely used by businesses that require speed, reliability, enhanced security, and data quality. Invented 50 years ago, the technology is still widely used in universities and schools, hospitals, government agencies and commercial offices.
