Robert E. Kahn

Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf created the software - known as the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, or TCP/IP - that allows supercomputers and desktop PCs to share the Internet.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Kahn earned his B.S. in electrical engineering at the City College of New York before gaining his M.S. and Ph.D. at Princeton University. While working at the Advanced Research Project Agency, Kahn designed a system with software and universal network processors that enabled computers from different locations to exchange packets of data. Known as the Arpanet, Kahn's initial discoveries led to long-term problems, forcing him to redesign his means for encoding data.

He turned to Vinton Cerf, a network technician, for help in creating a standardized data packet, one that would allow data to be easily transmitted and received over a common network. Their work resulted in a protocol that exchanged envelopes of data, regardless of different formatting. Beginning in 1983, TCP/IP became the standard method to use the Arpanet. This new program allowed the Arpanet to evolve into the Internet, enabling applications ranging from e-mail and instant messaging to the World Wide Web.

In 2004, Kahn received the Turing Award with Cerf for their pioneering work in computers.

Herman A. Affel
Karl Bosch
Lloyd Espenschied
Willard S. Boyle
George E. Smith
Vinton G. Cerf
Robert E. Kahn
Robert W. Gore
Fritz Haber
Richard M. Hoe
Benjamin Holt
Ali Javan
Dale Kleist
Robert S. Langer, Jr.
Julio C. Palmaz
Gregory G. Pincus
Russell Games Slayter
George E. Smith
John H. Thomas
Elihu Thomson
William Erastus Upjohn
Granville T. Woods