9:16 a.m., Aug. 5, 2009----David Farber, professor of electrical engineering at the University of Delaware through the 1970s and 1980s, is part of a team selected to receive the 2009 Jonathan B. Postel Service Award from the Internet Society.

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The group developed CSNET, a network that linked computer science departments at academic institutions across the country and provided a bridge from the Department of Defense's ARPANET to the modern Internet.

Conferred in Stockholm, Sweden, on July 29, the award recognizes the pioneering work of Farber and the three other principal investigators who conceived and later led the building of CSNET, as well as the contributions of the National Science Foundation (NSF) program officer who supported the project.

The award was accepted on behalf of the team by David Crocker, who was a UD graduate student at the time of the network's development.

“In many ways, CSNET helped set the stage for the Internet that today reaches more than 1 billion people,” said Lynn St. Amour, president and CEO of the Internet Society. “CSNET's community-driven, self-sustaining governance structure was an early example of the model that helps ensure that even as today's Internet grows and evolves, it remains an open platform for innovation around the world.”

CSNET began in 1981 with a five-year grant from NSF. Within five years, the open network connected more than 165 academic, government, and industrial computer research groups comprising some 50,000 researchers, educators, and students across the U.S. and around the world.

The work at UD included development of dial-in telephone connections to relay servers for e-mail exchange. E-mail was an integral part of the electronic community enabled by CSNET, and Farber believes that interpersonal communication, through both e-mail and instant messages, remains the strength of the Internet.

Often referred to as “the grandfather of the Internet,” Farber left UD in 1989 to accept an appointment as Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Telecommunication Systems at the University of Pennsylvania.

He served as chief technologist at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from 2000-2001 while on leave from UPenn. In appointing Farber to that position, the FCC referred to him as “a distinguished, world-class technology expert.” He is now Distinguished Career Professor of Computer Science and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University.

Farber is not only a major contributor to the Internet but also a user of the connections it has enabled. He currently runs a 25,000-plus member mailing list called “Interesting People,” and his Facebook page features links to more 700 friends.

Crocker is now a principal with Brandenburg InternetWorking, a consulting firm that assists clients in developing network-based applications businesses. He was a co-recipient of the 2004 IEEE Internet award for his work on e-mail.

In 2006, Crocker was one of three “Internet e-mail and security pioneers” appointed to the Technical Advisory Board of Goodmail Systems, creators of a class of e-mail designed to shield consumers from online fraud and phishing.

The Internet Society is a nonprofit organization founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet-related standards, education, and policy. The Society established the Postel Award in 1999 to honor individuals or organizations that have made outstanding contributions in service to the data communications community. The award consists of an engraved crystal globe and a $20,000 honorarium, which this year's recipients have requested be donated to non-profit organizations that support the spirit of the award.

The other members of the CSNET team were Peter Denning (Purdue University), Anthony Hearn (RAND Corporation), Larry Landweber (University of Wisconsin), and the late Kent Curtis (NSF).

Article by Diane Kukich