Vinton Cerf Ph.D.

National Medal of Technology and Innovation 1997

One of two Fathers of the Internet. TCP/IP protocols. Internet Architecture. Chief Internet Evangelist, Google. Interplanetary Internet. Living Legend.

"Brilliant, indescribably enthusiastic, humorous, happy, treats people extremely well. It would be nice to go to work every day and work with people like Vint Cerf." – R.V. Nagaveni, Founder, Ganga Library.

Maverick/Youth

Vinton Cerf, in the late 1950s, wore a coat and tie throughout high school. It was his way of being rebellious.

He moved from Stanford to the Defense Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency in Washington, D.C. To buy new clothes, his wife took him to Saks Fifth Avenue. His shopping included a white seersucker. Those days three piece suits were popular and it became his trademark. They are not used much nowadays. He holds the opinion that though the three piece suits may cause one to be overdressed in some occasions, they have the benefit of being able to be worn in a wide range of circumstances.

At the time Cerf commenced working in Google, there were 5,000 employees. He had hoped to be able to encourage more people to wear suits. Later, Google employed 25,000 people. Only one other person wore a suit. Cerf felt he failed! - Source: Rich Karlgaard, Forbes Staff