Kahn, Robert Elliot, 1938–, American computer scientist, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., B.E.E. City College of New York, 1960, Ph.D. Princeton, 1964. With Vinton Cerf, he is responsible for the design and implementation of the Internet's basic communication protocols, Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). After working at Bell Labs, he taught electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1964–66) and then worked on computer networking at Bolt, Beranek and Newman (now BBN), leading to a contract with the U.S. Dept. of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop an experimental large-scale network (ARPAnet, an early packet switching network). In 1972 Kahn joined the Internet Processing Techniques Office (IPTO) of DARPA, and in 1973 he began working with Cerf on a system of interconnecting networks that became the Internet. In 1986 he founded the Corporation for National Research Initiatives, of which he is chairman, CEO, and president.
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