$ Radia Perlman
1951–
Mother of the Internet
Invented the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) for Ethernet bridging; advanced link‑state routing and architected TRILL for scalable Layer‑2 fabrics.
networkingSTPbridginglink‑stateIS‑ISTRILLrouting
$ contributions
- Invented the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) enabling loop‑free Ethernet bridging in extended LANs
- Advanced link‑state routing concepts and contributed to IS‑IS deployments at scale
- Architected TRILL (Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links) to apply link‑state to Layer‑2 networks
- Authored “Interconnections” (bridges, routers, and internetworking), shaping network engineering education
- Contributed to network security designs across authentication and key management contexts
$ awards
- Internet Hall of Fame (2014)
“I think that I shall never see a graph more lovely than a tree.”