UMaine to Host Ethernet Inventor
Contact: George Markowsky, (207) 581-3940; Aimee Dolloff, (207) 581-3777
Robert Metcalfe, inventor of Ethernet computer networking technology, is scheduled to speak at 2:10 p.m. Friday, April 10, at the University of Maine.
The presentation, which will focus on using Internet technology to solve the energy crisis, will be held in Neville Hall, room 100. His appearance, titled “Enernet: Internet Lessons for Solving Energy,” is sponsored by the Department of Computer Science as part of an ongoing seminar series.
Metcalfe invented Ethernet, the local-area networking (LAN) standard on which he shares four patents, in 1973. Now, 35 years later, about 350 million new Ethernet ports are shipped annually.
The 1969 Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate later founded 3Com Corporation, a billion-dollar networking company.
He received a masters degree in applied mathematics from Harvard University in 1970, and three years later received his doctorate in computer science from Harvard, where his dissertation was Packet Communication.
Metcalfe also holds an honorary engineering doctorate from UMaine, and received the National Medal of Technology for leadership in the invention, standardization, and commercialization of Ethernet.
Metcalfe now is a venture capitalist with Polaris Venture Partners, which has offices in Boston and Seattle.
His presentation at UMaine will focus on how a look at the history and growth of the Internet can help solve the world’s energy crisis, including how the technology can increase communication and dialogue.