Stephen Wolff
Encyclopedia
For the poker player, see Stephen Wolff (poker).
Stephen Wolff is considered to be one of the many fathers of the internet. He is mainly credited with turning the internet from a government project into something that proved to have scholarly and commercial interest for the rest of the world. Dr. Wolff realized before most the potential in the internet and began selling the idea that the internet could have a profound effect on the both the commercial and academic world.
operating system to Army labs, which led to the minicomputer “revolt” within the labs in the early 1980s. Also while working for the Army, Wolff managed a research group that participated in the development of ARPANET
, a major technology precursor to the internet.
In 1986 Stephen Wolff became Division Director for Networking and Communications Research and Infrastructure at the National Science Foundation
. In this position he managed the development of a backbone network called NSFNET
which interconnected five universities' supercomputers. The five universities were Princeton, Cornell, the University of California at San Diego, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Pittsburgh. Wolff also managed grants to link the nation's universities together into regional networks that connected to the backbone and so provided universal connectivity to the academic community. The NSFNET was compatible with and connected to the ARPANET network.
Wolff also conceived of a joint NSF-DARPA project called the Gigabit Testbed, which was designed to prove the feasibility of IP networking at gigabit speeds.
In 1994 Wolff left NSF and joined Cisco
and helped with projects such as the Internet2
and Abilene
. Wolff's career at Cisco began as business development manager for the Academic Research and Technology Initiative program. Here Wolff helped advance the University Research Project (URP) which supports academic research candidates with grants to further networking technology. He was named the interim Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Internet2
on March 31, 2011.
Stephen Wolff is considered to be one of the many fathers of the internet. He is mainly credited with turning the internet from a government project into something that proved to have scholarly and commercial interest for the rest of the world. Dr. Wolff realized before most the potential in the internet and began selling the idea that the internet could have a profound effect on the both the commercial and academic world.
Education
Stephen Wolff earned a BSc with Highest Honors in Electrical Engineering from Swarthmore College in 1957, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University in 1961. In 1962 he continued his studies with subsequent post-doctoral work at Imperial College.Contributions to the Internet
For fourteen years Wolff worked as a communications and technology researcher for the United States Army. While working for the Army, Wolff introduced the UNIXUnix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
operating system to Army labs, which led to the minicomputer “revolt” within the labs in the early 1980s. Also while working for the Army, Wolff managed a research group that participated in the development of ARPANET
ARPANET
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network , was the world's first operational packet switching network and the core network of a set that came to compose the global Internet...
, a major technology precursor to the internet.
In 1986 Stephen Wolff became Division Director for Networking and Communications Research and Infrastructure at the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
. In this position he managed the development of a backbone network called NSFNET
NSFNet
The National Science Foundation Network was a program of coordinated, evolving projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation beginning in 1985 to promote advanced research and education networking in the United States...
which interconnected five universities' supercomputers. The five universities were Princeton, Cornell, the University of California at San Diego, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Pittsburgh. Wolff also managed grants to link the nation's universities together into regional networks that connected to the backbone and so provided universal connectivity to the academic community. The NSFNET was compatible with and connected to the ARPANET network.
Wolff also conceived of a joint NSF-DARPA project called the Gigabit Testbed, which was designed to prove the feasibility of IP networking at gigabit speeds.
In 1994 Wolff left NSF and joined Cisco
Cisco
Cisco may refer to:Companies:*Cisco Systems, a computer networking company* Certis CISCO, corporatised entity of the former Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation in Singapore...
and helped with projects such as the Internet2
Internet2
Internet2 is an advanced not-for-profit US networking consortium led by members from the research and education communities, industry, and government....
and Abilene
Abilene Network
Abilene Network was a high-performance backbone network created by the Internet2 community in the late 1990s. In 2007 the Abilene Network was retired and upgraded network was known as the "Internet2 Network".-History:...
. Wolff's career at Cisco began as business development manager for the Academic Research and Technology Initiative program. Here Wolff helped advance the University Research Project (URP) which supports academic research candidates with grants to further networking technology. He was named the interim Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Internet2
Internet2
Internet2 is an advanced not-for-profit US networking consortium led by members from the research and education communities, industry, and government....
on March 31, 2011.
Major Awards
- In 2002 Stephen Wolff was recognized with the Postel AwardPostel AwardThe Jonathan B. Postel Service Award is an award named after Jon Postel. The award has been presented every year since 1999 by the Internet Society to "honor a person who has made outstanding contributions in service to the data communications community."...
. This award is given each year to a person that has made outstanding contributions to the data communications community. The award entails a presentation of a crystal and 20,000 dollars. Upon receiving the award the Internet SocietyInternet SocietyThe Internet Society or ISOC is an international, nonprofit organization founded during 1992 to provide direction in Internet related standards, education, and policy...
(ISOC) President and CEO Lynn St.Amour said “…Steve helped transform the Internet from an activity that served the specific goals of the research community to a worldwide enterprise which has energized scholarship and commerce throughout the world.”
- In 1994 the ISOCISOCISOC is an abbreviation which may refer to:* Internet Society, an international organization that promotes Internet use and access* Internal Security Operations Command, a unit of the Thai military devoted to national security issues...
also recognized Wolff for his courage and leadership in advancing the Internet.