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Internet pioneer Paul Mockapetris will develop new applications for the Domain Name System he created at ISI working with Jon Postel. |
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• PCEN web site
• Nominum |
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Robert Perkins
(213) 740-9226 |
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Internet pioneer Paul Mockapetris, chief scientist of IP
address infrastructure software provider Nominum, has been
appointed Visiting Scholar by the Postel Center for
Experimental Networking (PCEN), PCEN director Joseph D.
Touch announced March 31.
The Information Sciences Institute of the University of
Southern California (USC-ISI) established the center to
memorialize the life-long accomplishments of Internet
pioneer Jonathan B. Postel and to encourage visionary
research in networking and communications for the Internet
community. Dr. Mockapetris will focus on experiments
involving future technologies using the Domain Name
System (DNS).
The advisory board for PCEN elected Mockapetris based on
collaborative work with the late Dr. Postel on the 1983
invention of DNS. Twenty years after its invention, DNS is an
essential component of the Internet infrastructure. All
Internet users depend on DNS every time they access a web
URL or send an email message, because the system
translates words into the numbers needed to locate Internet
resources. The whole structure of the Internet and the vast
volume of commerce it now carries rest on the DNS protocol
invented by Mockapetris and the architecture created by
Postel.
"Paul is recognized as a pioneer who through dedication and
commitment has contributed to the Internet community for
over 20 years," said Dr. Touch "This level of commitment is
the basis for the Postel Center, where industry thought
leaders are able to pursue long-term visionary projects with
Fellowship Students from the university."
Mockapetris joined ISI in 1978, and while there developed
the first SMTP email server. He held a number of positions at
ISI, including director of the high performance computing
and communications division. It was at ISI, in 1983, that the
DNS was invented. By 1986, Mockapetris' initial
implementation of DNS was running on all of the Internet's
root name servers.
In 1995, Mockapetris left academia to become employee
number two at @Home, where his efforts helped to bring
broadband Internet to the home via cable modem.
Mockapetris' decision to join Nominum in 1999 marked his
renewed focus on DNS and IP addressing and the potential it
holds for the future of the Internet.
A member of the IEEE and the Association for Computing
Machinery, Mockapetris has served as chair of the Internet
Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Research Working
Group of the U.S. Federal Networking Council. He held the
position of program manager for networking at the
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the U.S.
Department of Defense, the organization that funded the
creation of the Internet. Mockapetris also served on the
Internet Architecture Board (IAB). His honors include the
Distinguished Alumnus award from University of California at
Irvine and the 2003 IEEE Internet Award.
Mockapetris received his bachelor's degrees in physics and
electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and his doctorate in information and computer
science from the University of California at Irvine.
Nominum is a pioneering provider of IP address
infrastructure software for enterprises that require reliable
and secure DNS, DHCP and IP address management for their
mission critical networks under the slogan "Nominum is
driving the future of IP addressing."
The Postel Center for Experimental Networking was
established in April 2000 to memorialize the late Jonathan
Postel for years of life-long accomplishments and industry
contributions. Postel was at the forefront of many
technologies developed over twenty years ago that todayís
Internet relies upon. A think tank for experienced scientists,
educators and students, the Postel Center is dedicated to
providing a place for long-term network research projects
and is funded by an endowment seeded by Cisco
Corporation and other donors. | 
