IEEE Triple Milestone Event – 50th Anniversary of Internet TCP/IP
Three events: May 17, 19 and 20, 2024
Events will be live-streamed. See below for links.
In 2013, Andrew L Russell published in IEEE Spectrum the technical paper OSI: The Internet that wasn’t, explaining how TCP/IP eclipsed the Open Systems Interconnection standards to become the global protocol standard for computer networking. It all started with the technical paper Vint Cerf and Robert Kahn published in IEEE Transactions on Communications in 1974.
This year, 50 years after the seminal paper, we celebrate together with People-Centered Internet, and SRI PARC, the 50th anniversary with live streaming events May 17, May 19, and May 20.
- Friday, May 17, 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. (UTC-7)
Online event broadcast from SRI’s PARC Campus
A set of talks followed by unveiling of three IEEE Milestone plaques for the Alto Personal Computer, Ethernet, and Laser Printer. See below for program overview and livestream link. - Sunday, May 19, Noon – 2:30 p.m. PDT (UTC-7)
Virtual Celebration of 50 Years of the Internet. An online event to honor the 1974 IEEE Computer Society paper on TCP as authored by Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn. Livestream by IEEE.tv. See below for program overview and registration link. - Monday, May 20, 1 – 4 p.m. PDT (UTC-7)
There will be a hybrid event at the Computer History Museum that will include dedication of three IEEE Milestones for:
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- The 1974 IEEE Computer Society paper on TCP (“Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) Enables the Internet”) as authored by Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn
- The IEEE 802 Standards Committee which controls the standards for IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet), 802.11 (Wi-Fi®), 802.15 (incl. Bluetooth)
- The Birth of Google and its PageRank Algorithm, 1996-1998
See below for program, in-person registration, and link for the IEEE.tv livestream. If you are waitlisted, please do sign up and we will keep you informed.
SRI PARC Program Friday, May 17, 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Online event broadcast from SRI’s PARC Campus
The in-person event is sold out, but the livestream will be available at SRI: https://sri.zoomgov.com/j/1612559681 and at IEEE.tv: https://ieeetv.ieee.org/live-events/office_of_the_future
Program will include conversations with Vint Cerf and Bob Metcalfe — two people whose contributions have fundamentally shaped modern networking and computing. We will be joined by Tom Coughlin, 2024 IEEE President, and Brian Berg, IEEE History Committee Vice Chair.
Agenda:
Welcome and Introductions: David Parekh, SRI Chief Executive Officer
Keynote Speakers: Vint Cerf & Bob Metcalfe
IEEE Milestone History: Tom Coughlin & Brian Berg
Panel discussion: TBA
The 3 plaques to be dedicated at PARC:
- Alto Personal Networked Computer
- Laser Printer
- Ethernet (Led to IEEE 802.3 standard)
i50 Program
Sunday, May 19, Noon – 2:30 p.m. PDT – virtual event
IEEE i50: A Virtual Celebration of 50 Years of the Internet
Livestream registration: https://engage.ieee.org/celebrate-i50
IEEE.tv Livestream at: https://ieeetv.ieee.org/live-events/i50
IEEE invites Internet enthusiasts and 460,000+ IEEE members from over 190 countries to join an engaging live-stream as we look back at the Internet’s humble beginnings and the important contributions of IEEE.
In May 1974, the IEEE Transactions on Communications scientific journal published the seminal paper “A Protocol for Packet Network Intercommunication.” Authored by Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn, this paper described the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) that supported the interconnection of multiple packet-switched networks into a network of networks.
Fifty years later, you are invited to join Vint Cerf and other luminaries in celebrating this milestone and exploring what is next in the evolution of the internet.
Technical innovators and global leaders will discuss these breakthroughs and contemplate what it will take to create a people-centric future where the Internet benefits all of humanity. Join us on 19 May as we celebrate the Internet’s 50th anniversary!
i50 Event Program and Schedule
12:00 – 12:10 PM: Opening Remarks IEEE and People Centered
Mei Lin Fung, Chair | IEEE i50 Virtual Event; Chair | SSIT Sustainability Technical Committee; Co-chair & Co-founder | People Centered Internet
Thomas Coughlin, 2024 President, IEEE
12:10 – 12:35 PM: TCP and the Internet – Origins and Subsequent Impact
Vint Cerf, Vice President, Chief Internet Evangelist, Google
Bob Kahn, Chair and CEO, Corporation for National Research Initiatives
Judy Estrin, CEO, JLabs
12:35 – 12:45 PM: Internet and Beyond – Internet Society & Internet Engineering Task Force
Sally Wentworth, Managing Director, The Internet Society
12:50 – 1:20 PM: The People-Centered Digital Future Countries are Building
David Kirkpatrick, Senior Fellow, People Centered Internet
Anir Chowdhury, Policy Advisor, a2i, ICT Division/Cabinet Division/UNDP Bangladesh
Sanjay Jain, Director, Digital Public Infrastructure, Gates Foundation
Pramod Varma, Architect of India Digital Public Infrastructure, Aadhar, UPI, ONDC
1:20 – 1:45 PM: Digital Transformation and Ancestral Intelligence in the Era of AI
The Honorable Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister, Greece
Konstantinos Karachalios, former Managing Director, IEEE Standards Association
1:55 – 2:25 PM: Panel Session – How Can We Ensure AI Serves Everyone, Everywhere?
Kate Wilson, Senior Fellow, People Centered Internet
Keith Strier, VP, Worldwide AI, NVIDIA; US National AI Advisory Council
Sophie Muirhead| IEEE Executive Director & COO
2:25 – 2:45 PM: Working Together Towards a Positive Digital Future
2:45 – 3:00 PM: Closing Reflections
Mei Lin Fung, Chair | IEEE i50 Virtual Event; Chair | SSIT Sustainability Technical Committee; Co-chair & Co-founder | People Centered Internet
Bob Metcalfe, Co-designer of Ethernet at Xerox PARC; the “Father” of Ethernet
Hosted by IEEE in collaboration with the People-Centered Internet (PCI)
Computer History Museum Program
Monday, May 20, 1 – 4 p.m. PDT (UTC-7)
IEEE i50 Program, Monday 20 May
Register here to attend in-person (If you are waitlisted, please do sign up and we will keep you informed.)
Dedication will be live streamed by IEEE.tv at
https://ieeetv.ieee.org/live-events/milestone-tcp-802-Google
1:00 – 1:30 pm: Welcome and Introduction
Brian Berg, Vice Chair, IEEE History Committee
Joseph Wei, Director-Elect, IEEE Region 6
Karen Galuchie, Executive Director, IEEE Foundation
1:30 – 2:25 pm: How Google’s PageRank Algorithm Shaped Our Access to Digital Content
Moderator: Marc Najork, Distinguished Research Scientist at Google DeepMind
Benedict Gomes, Senior Vice President for Learning & Sustainability, Google
Krishna Bharat, Distinguished Research Scientist, Google
Pandu Nayak, Vice President for Search, Google
Dedication of Milestone: PageRank and the Birth of Google, 1996-1998
2:25 – 2:45 pm: With the Internet Society @50th Anniversary of the Internet
Sally Wentworth, Managing Director, The Internet Society
Discussion of the 1974 TCP Paper as authored by Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn
Vint Cerf, Vice President, Chief Internet Evangelist, Google
Dedication of Milestone: Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) Enables the Internet, 1974
2:45 – 3:15 pm: The Success of the IEEE 802 Standards Committee
Geoff Thompson, IEEE 802 Executive Committee Emeritus; 802 Milestone proposer
James Gilb, IEEE 802 Executive Committee Chair
Clint Powell, IEEE 802.15 Working Group Chair
Dedication of Milestone: Origin of the IEEE 802 Family of Networking Standards, 1980-1999
3:15 – 3:40 pm: Four Other IEEE Milestones Which Have Paved the Way for the Next 50 Years
Brian Berg, Vice Chair, IEEE History Committee
Development of the Commercial Laser Printer, 1971-1977
Ron Rider, VP of Digital Imaging (retired), Xerox PARC
The Xerox Alto Establishes Personal Networked Computing, 1972-1983
John Shoch, Office Systems Division President (retired), Xerox PARC
Ethernet Local Area Network (LAN), 1973-1985 &
The ALOHAnet Packet Radio Data Network, 1971
Bob Metcalfe, Co-Inventor of Ethernet at Xerox PARC
Dedication of Milestones: The first three milestones were dedicated at SRI PARC on Friday, May 17; The fourth milestone ALOHAnet led directly to the development of Ethernet.
3:35 – 3:50 pm: From the past 50 to next 50 years
Marc Weber, Internet Historian at the Computer History Museum
Mei Lin Fung, Chair, i50 IEEE; Co-Founder with Vint Cerf, People Centered Internet
Jascha Stein, Executive Chair, People Centered Internet
3:50 – 4:00 pm: Computer History Museum’s Front Wall of 26 IEEE Milestone Plaques
Brian Berg, Vice Chair, IEEE History Committee
Timothy Lee, President-Elect, IEEE-USA
4:00 pm: Closure of the streaming event
