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The 2017 Internet Hall of Fame Induction

Researchers from the Imagining the Internet Center recorded acceptance speeches at a ceremony hosted by the Internet Society in Los Angeles September 18.

Honorees include Jaap Akkerhuis, Yvonne Marie Andrés, Alan Emtage, Edward Krol, Tracy LaQuey Parker, Craig Partridge, Nabil Bukhalid, Ira Fuchs, Shigeki Goto, Mike Jensen, Ermanno Pietrosemoli, Tadao Takahashi, Florencio Utreras and Jianping Wu.

Monday, September 18, 2017 - You can view the full archived video coverage of this event here: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=U0AQ9lYgFRU (starts at 5 minutes in).

The fourth induction of honorees to the Internet Society's Internet Hall of Fame took place at the Luskin Conference Center at the University of California-Los Angeles in conjunction with several events celebrating the Internet Society's 25th Anniversary.

The Hall of Fame class of 2017 includes 14 Internet leaders who were selected because of their impact, influence, innovation and the reach of their contributions. They were chosen for this honor by an Internet Hall of Fame Advisory Board after an open nominations period. The inductees were selected in two of the Hall's three categories: the Innovators and the Global Connectors.

The continual advancement of the Internet is made possible by thousands of individuals. Those inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame have had some significant impact on the advancement of the Internet; many have been leaders in the ongoing development of the Internet and many continue to contribute.

To see the induction acceptance speeches, click on the videos in the player at right.



The Global Connectors are defined by the Internet Society as those "individuals from around the world who have made significant contributions to the global growth and use of the Internet."

Nabil Bukhalid led the team at the American University of Beirut that brought the Internet to Lebanon and established the Lebanese Domain Registry (LBDR).

Ira Fuchs co-founded BITNET, a precursor to the Internet that offered many of the Internet’s core services years before the Internet’s commercialization.

Shigeki Goto was instrumental in the expansion of the Asia-Pacific Internet, translated many early Internet guides from English and served as a trustee of the Internet Society from 1994 to 1997.

Mike Jensen wrote code in the late 1980s-90s that connected early email and bulletin board networks in developing countries with the global Internet.

Ermanno Pietrosemoli was key in connecting Venezuela’s Universidad de los Andes to the Internet backbone and worked in development projects including enabling long-distance WiFi in the Andes.

Tadao Takahashi was instrumental in the planning and deployment of the Internet in Brazil and founded and led Brazil’s National Research Network.

Florencio Utreras led the connection of Chile to the BITNET network in 1987, headed Chile’s pioneer academic network and is led the Latin American research networks group.

Jianping Wu led the design, development and evolution of the China Education and Research Networks, CERNET, the first Internet backbone in China, into the largest national academic network.


The Innovators category includes those who have "made outstanding technological,
commercial or policy advances and helped to expand the Internet's reach."

Jaap Akkerhuis played an instrumental role in developing the Internet in the Netherlands and Europe over many decades, starting in the early 1980s.

Yvonne Marie Andrés was one of the first to use the Internet to develop and advance global e-learning opportunities for educators and students.

Alan Emtage conceived of and implemented the world’s first Internet search engine, Archie, pioneering many techniques used by search engines today to help people find what they need.

Edward Krol was the original networking manager for the US National Center for Supercomputer Applications and also authored the "Hitchhikers Guide to the Internet," an introduction for newbies.

Tracy LaQuey Parker authored two of the earliest Internet education guides for novices. "The User’s Directory of Computer Networks" is now considered a historic record of NSFNET.

Craig Partridge contributed extensively to the Internet’s networking evolution for decades since the 1980s; some of his work included speedy router design and email routing using domain names.

Click here to view the full, long-form sit-down
interviews with the 2017 Hall of Fame inductees

Click here to return to Imagining the Internet's homepage for its coverage of ISOC's 25th Anniversary

- Multimedia reports from the Internet Society's 25th Anniversary activities were conducted for the Imagining the Internet Center by undergraduate researchers Diego Pineda Davila, Melissa Douglas, Maya Eaglin, Alex Hager, Meg Malone, Alexandra Roat, Jared Mayerson and Erik Webb of Elon University's School of Communications, under the supervision of Elon faculty Janna Anderson and David Bockino