Vinton G. Cerf has served as vice president and chief Internet evangelist for Google since October 2005. In this role, he contributes to global policy development and continued standardization and spread of the Internet. He is also an active public face for Google in the Internet world.
From 1994 to 2005, Cerf served as the senior vice president of Technology Strategy for MCI. In this role, Cerf was responsible for helping to guide corporate strategy development from the technical perspective. Previously, Cerf served as MCI’s senior vice president of Architecture and Technology, leading a team of architects and engineers to design advanced networking frameworks including Internet-based solutions for delivering a combination of data, information, voice and video services for business and consumer use.
Widely known as one of the “Fathers of the Internet,” Cerf is the co-designer of the TCP/IP protocols and the architecture of the Internet. In December 1997, President Clinton presented the U.S. National Medal of Technology to Cerf and his colleague, Robert E. Kahn, for founding and developing the Internet. Kahn and Cerf were named the recipients of the ACM Alan M. Turing award in 2004 for their work on the Internet protocols. The ACM Turing award is sometimes called the “Nobel Prize of Computer Science.” In November 2005, President George Bush awarded Cerf and Kahn the Presidential Medal of Freedom for their work. The medal is the highest civilian award given by the United States to its citizens. In April 2008, Cerf and Kahn received the prestigious Japan Prize and in 2013 Cerf, Kahn and three others received the Queen Elizabeth Prize in Engineering. Cerf was made an officer of the French Legion d’Honneur in December 2014 and Foreign Member of the British Royal Society in July 2016. In 2018 together with Robert Kahn, he received the Franklin Medal. In 2023, Cerf was awarded the IEEE Medal of Honor and the Marconi Society Lifetime Achievement Award.
Prior to rejoining MCI in 1994, Cerf was vice president of the Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI) where he worked on information infrastructure and digital libraries. As vice president of MCI Digital Information Services from 1982-1986, he led the engineering of MCI Mail, the first commercial email service to be connected to the Internet. During his tenure from 1976-1982 with the U.S. Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Cerf played a key role leading the development of Internet and Internet-related packet data transport and security technologies.
He serves as an advisor to many US Government agencies including the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the US Departments of Defense, Energy and Commerce.
Cerf was appointed by President Obama to serve a six year term on the National Science Board beginning in May 2012. He served as president of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) from 2012-2014. He served as chairman of the board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) from 2000-2007. Cerf also served as founding president of the Internet Society from 1992-1995 and in 1999 served a term as chairman of the Board. In addition, Cerf is honorary chairman of the IPv6 Forum, dedicated to raising awareness and speeding introduction of the new Internet protocol. Cerf served as a member of the U.S. Presidential Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) from 1997 to 2001 and has served on several national, state and industry committees focused on cyber-security. Cerf sat on the Board of Directors for the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) and served as Chairman until 2016. He is Chairman of the Marconi Society and is a member of the Science Advisory Board for CosmosID. Cerf served on the Gallaudet Board of Trustees from 1997-2005 and on the Board of Associates of Gallaudet University until 2017. He served on the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Advisory Committee and has been a distinguished visiting scientist there since 1998. He was appointed to the Science Subcommittee of the NASA Advisory Council in 2018. He served as Chair of the Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology during 2006-2013 and was re-appointed to the committee in 2018. He also serves as Chairman and Treasurer of the National Medals of Science & Technology Foundation. Cerf is a Fellow of the IEEE, ACM, and American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the International Engineering Consortium, the Computer History Museum, the Annenberg Center for Communications at USC, the Swedish Royal Academy of Engineering, the American Philosophical Society, the Hasso Plattner Institute and is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering and US National Academy of Science. In 2011, he was made Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society. Cerf is an honorary liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists and the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers. He holds an appointment at the Chair of the Leadership Panel of the UN Internet Governance Forum. He is the former Chairman of the Board of the People Centered Internet and former Chairman of the Innovation for Jobs organization.
Cerf is a recipient of numerous additional awards and commendations in connection with his work on the Internet. These include the Marconi Fellowship, Charles Stark Draper award of the National Academy of Engineering, the Prince of Asturias award for science and technology, the National Medal of Science from Tunisia, the St. Cyril and St. Methodius Order (Grand Cross) of Bulgaria, the Terra Mariana Medal of Estonia, the Alexander Graham Bell Award presented by the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf, the NEC Computer and Communications Prize, the Silver Medal of the International Telecommunications Union, the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal, the IEEE Koji Kobayashi Award, the ACM Software and Systems Award, the ACM SIGCOMM Award, the Computer and Communications Industries Association Industry Legend Award, the Yuri Rubinsky Web Award, the Kilby Award , the Rotary Club International Paul P. Harris Medal, the Joseph Priestley Award from Dickinson College, the Yankee Group/Interop/Network World Lifetime Achievement Award, the George R. Stibitz Award, the Werner Wolter Award, the Andrew Saks Engineering Award, the IEEE Third Millennium Medal, the Computerworld/Smithsonian Leadership Award, the J.D. Edwards Leadership Award for Collaboration, World Institute on Disability Annual award and the Library of Congress Bicentennial Living Legend medal. Cerf was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in May 2006. He was made an Eminent Member of the IEEE Eta Kappa Nu (HKN) honor society in 2009. In 2010 he received a Lifetime Webby Award. In February 2011 he was named a Stanford Engineering School “Hero” for his work on the Internet and received a lifetime achievement award from the Oxford Internet Institute. In 2015, he received the Colombian Murillo Toro medal for communications. In November 2018, he gave the Romanes Lecture at Oxford University. He and Robert Kahn received the Donald A.B. Lindberg Health Communication Award from the Friends of the National Library of Medicine in September, 2019. Other awards include the George C. Marshall Innovation Award, March 2019, Catalunya International Prize, March 2019, Consumer Technology Association Hall of Fame, with Robert Kahn, August 2020, Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe “Light the Night with Science” Honoree, Nov. 2020 and the PeaceTech Labs International Peace Honors, December 2020. In 2021, Cerf and Kahn received the Consumer Technology Association Hall of Fame Award. Cerf, Kahn and several others received the VinFutures Grand Prize for their work in December 2022.
In December, 1994, People magazine identified Cerf as one of that year’s “25 Most Intriguing People.”
In addition to his work on behalf of Google and the Internet, Cerf has served as a technical advisor to production for “Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: The Final Conflict” and made a special guest appearance on the program in May 1998. Cerf has appeared on television programs such as NextWave with Leonard Nimoy and often co-hosted World Business Review with Alexander Haig and Caspar Weinberger. In July 2014, he appeared on the Colbert Report television show.
Cerf holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Stanford University and Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from UCLA. He also holds honorary Doctorate degrees from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich; Lulea University of Technology, Sweden; University of the Balearic Islands, Palma; Capitol College, Maryland; Gettysburg College, Pennsylvania; George Mason University, Virginia; Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona, Spain; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York; the University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands; Brooklyn Polytechnic; Marymount University; the University of Pisa; the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications; Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; the University of Zaragoza, Spain; the Technical University of Cartagena, Spain; the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain; Bethany College, Kansas; the Moscow State University of International Relations; the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology; Keio University, Tokyo, Japan; Yale University; Gallaudet University, Washington DC; St. Andrews University, Scotland; Pitt University, Pittsburgh; McGill University, Canada; the Ramon Llull University (La Salle) in Barcelona, Spain; and University of Reading, UK.
His personal interests include fine wine, gourmet cooking and science fiction. Cerf and his wife, Sigrid, were married in 1966 and have two sons, David and Bennett.
Professional Memberships, Activities and Awards:
- Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) (Member since 1967)
- (Fellow 1993, President 2012-2014; past President 2014-2016)
- ACM Council (1990-1992; 2010-present)
- ACM SIGCOMM (Member, since 1973), (Chairman 1987 – 1991)
- ACM LA-SIGART (Member 1967 – 1972), (Chairman, 1968 – 1969)
- ACM National Lecturer (1979 – 1980)
- ACM Systems Software Award (for TCP/IP with R. E. Kahn), 1992
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Fellow 1990 I Chairman, Information, Computing and Communications Section, 2010-2011
- American Academy for the Arts and Sciences, Fellow 1995
- Sigma Xi (Member 1972 – Present)
- IEEE (Member 1976, Senior Member 1980, Fellow 1988)
- IEEE Koji Kobayashi Award (for TCP/IP with R. E. Kahn), 1992
- IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Award (for Internet, with R. E. Kahn), 1997
- IFIP – Chairman, IFIP Working Group 6.1 (1972 – 1976)
- Member IFIP Working Groups 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, and 6.5
- Internet Architecture Board (Member 1985-1993), (Chairman 1989-1991)
- Internet Society (Pioneer Member, since 1992) (Founding President 1992 – 1995) Board of Trustees (1992 – Sept 2000), (Vice President for Chapters 1997-1998), (Chairman 1998-1999), (Founding Chairman, Internet Societal Task Force, March 1999-Sept 2000)
- IPV6 Forum (Honorary Chairman, July 1999 – present)
- Federal Newsmaker Award (Federal Computer Week, 1989)
- Datamation Hall of Fame, 1989
- Brain Mapping Panel, Institute of Medicine 1990-1991
- Rubin I. Altizer Award, 1992
- Collaboratory Panel, National Academy of Science, chair, 1992 – 1993
- Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award, 1993
- UNIFORUM Award, 1993
- Dvorak Technology Award, 1993 (BBSCON)
- Info World Technology Award, 1993 (on behalf of Internet Society)
- National Cristina Foundation Award, 1995
- NATO Science Subcommittee on Networking, Chairman 1994 – 1998
- Networld/Interop Lifetime Achievement Award, 1994
- PEOPLE Magazine, 25 Most Intriguing People of 1994, December 1994
- National Academy of Engineering (Member, 1995; committee on membership 2001-2004)
- Softquad/Rubinsky Award, 1995
- Medal of the Ambassador of France, 1995
- International Telecommunications Union Silver Medal, 1995
- Industry Legend Award, Computer and Communications Industries Association, 1996
- Computerworld/Smithsonian Leadership Award, 1996
- Franklin Institute, Certificate of Merit, May 1996
- Nippon Electronics Corporation Computers and Communications Award, 1996
- ACM SIGCOMM Award, 1996
- Internet Electronic Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award, 1997
- National Medal of Technology (w/Robert Kahn), 1997 Awarded by President Bill Clinton
- Member of the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee 1997- 2001
- Marconi Fellowship Award, April 1998
- Washington Association of Science Award, May 1998
- Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf Medal, June 1998
- Computer Reseller News/Computer Museum Hall of Fame, Nov 1998
- Fellow, International Engineering Consortium, June 1999
- George R. Stibitz Computer Award, September 1999 (w/Robert Kahn)
- Werner Wolter Award, Intelevent, September 1999
- Millennium Evening with President and Mrs. Clinton, (w/Eric Lander) October 1999
- Living Legend Medal, Library of Congress, April 2000
- E-map World Communications Lifetime Achievement Award, Monaco, Nov 2000
- Charles Stark Draper Award (w/Kahn, Kleinrock, Roberts) Feb 2001
- Andrew Saks Engineering Award, Telecommunications for the Deaf, Inc, July 2001
- J.D. Edwards Leadership Award for Collaboration, Computerworld, June 2002
- Prince of Asturias Award, Oviedo, Spain, October 2002
- World Institute on Disability Annual Award, San Francisco, November 2002
- UCLA Engineering Alumnus of the Year Award, November 2003
- National Medal of Science, Tunisia 2003
- ACM Turing Award, 2004 (with Robert E Kahn), awarded June 2005
- Presidential Medal of Freedom (w/Robert Kahn), Nov. 9, 2005 by President George W Bush
- National Inventors Hall of Fame, May 2006 (w/Robert Kahn)
- St. Cyril & St. Methodius (Collar) Order of Bulgaria, awarded 7/4/2006 by President Paranov
- The Joseph Priestley Award, Dickinson College, September 2007
- Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, October 2007
- The Japan Prize, April 23, 2008 (w/Robert Kahn)
- Freeman of the City of London, April 2008
- Member of the American Philosophical Society, April 2008
- Cosmos Club McGovern Award 2008
- Cosmos Club Member 2011 – present
- Foreign Member, Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, March 2009
- Eminent Member, Eta Kappa Nu (HKN) honor society of the IEEE, December 2009
- Pender Award, University of Pennsylvania, February 2010 (w/Robert Kahn)
- Lifetime Webby Award, New York City June 2010
- Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Eagle Award, April 2011
- UCLA Alumnus of the Year, May 2011
- Hasso Plattner Institute Fellow, May 2011
- New Media Consortium Lifetime Achievement Award, June 2011
- Life Achievement Award, Oxford Internet Institute, September 2011.
- Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society, September 2011
- Arthur C. Clarke Lifetime Achievement Award, April 2012
- Internet Hall of Fame (Internet Society) – April 2012
- Honorary Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists, 2012
- Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering (with Robert Kahn, Tim Berners-Lee, Marc Andreessen and Louis Pouzin), March/June 2013
- Terra Mariana Medal (First Class) of Estonia, May 2014
- Computing Research Association Distinguished Service Award, June 2014
- National Cyber Security Hall of Fame, August 2014
- Elected Officer of the French Legion d’Honneur, December 2014
- Honorary Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Stationers & Newspaper Makers, Oct 2015
- Murillo Toro Medal for Communications, Colombia, November 2015
- Foreign Member of the Royal Society, UK, July 2016
- Areté Medallion, Elon University, September 2016
- George Gamow Memorial Lecture, University of Colorado, Feb 2018
- Shannon Luminary Lecture, Nokia-Bell Laboratories, March 2018
- Franklin Medal, May 2018
- French-American Foundation Award, June 2018
- Carl Theodor Prize of the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region, Sept 2018
- Romanes Lecture, Oxford University, November 2018
- George C. Marshall Innovation Award, March 2019
- Catalunya International Prize, March 2019
- World Leader in AI Award, AI World Society, presented by Gov. Michael Dukakis, 4/26/2019
- Donald A.B. Lindberg Award for Health Communications, with Robert Kahn, September 2019
- National Academy of Science, May 2020
- Consumer Technology Association Hall of Fame, with Robert Kahn, August 2020
- Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe “Light the Night with Science” Honoree, Nov. 2020
- PeaceTech Labs International Peace Honors, December 2020
- World Agility Forum, Lifetime Achievement Award, September 2021
- World Shaper Award, Nation-Building Institute, Thailand, September 2021
- Consumer Technology Association Hall of Fame Award, November 2021
- VinFutures Grand Prize, December 2022
- IEEE Medal of Honor, 2023
- Marconi Society Lifetime Achievement Award, 2023
