‘Father of the Internet’ Vint Cerf visits Oct. 16

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Vint Cerf, Google’s vice president and chief Internet evangelist and “father of the Internet,” will discuss digital vellum Oct. 16.

Vint Cerf, Google’s vice president and chief Internet evangelist who is widely regarded as a “father of the Internet,” will help kick off RIT’s Brick City Homecoming & Family Weekend with a talk on Oct. 16.

Cerf will discuss his ideas for avoiding a digital dark age, in which obsolete files can’t be recovered, as part of the B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences Dean’s Lecture Series. The talk, “Digital Vellum: Preserving Digital Content for the Ages,” is from 1 to 2 p.m. Oct. 16 in RIT’s Ingle Auditorium, Student Alumni Union.

As the 21st century unfolds, an increasing quantity of information is “born digital” and much of it requires software to correctly interpret or render the contents. Cerf will discuss digital vellum, his idea for assuring the longevity of digital media and preserving the application software, operating systems and descriptions of computer hardware required to render older file/data formats.

Cerf is the co-designer of TCP/IP protocols and the basic architecture of the Internet. In 2005, Cerf and co-designer Robert Kahn were awarded with the highest civilian honor bestowed in the United States—the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

He is a recipient of numerous awards for his work, including the U.S. National Medal of Technology, the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering and the ACM Turing Award. Currently, Cerf is responsible for identifying new enabling technologies and applications on the Internet and other platforms for Google.

Established in 2003, the Dean’s Lecture Series brings some of the leading minds in technology to the Golisano College to share their insights with students, faculty and the community. The lectures are free and open to the public.

All seating for the Oct. 16 talk is general admission, but tickets are required. Tickets can be acquired at the Golisano College Office of the Dean. Doors open at noon. At 12:50 p.m., all seats will become available, with or without tickets.

The Golisano Dean’s Lecture Series continues with James Herbsleb, professor of computer science at the Institute for Software Research Carnegie Mellon University, on Nov. 5.