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Robert Metcalfe
Sign in to saveAlso known as Robert Melancton Metcalf, Robert Melancton Metcalfe, Bob Metcalfe
American electrical engineer
Key facts
- Born
- Robert Melancton Metcalfe , ( 1946-04-07 ) April 7, 1946 (age 80) , New York City, U.S.
- Education
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( BS ) Harvard University ( MS , PhD )
- Known for
- Internet pioneer Ethernet inventor 3Com founder Metcalfe's law
- Spouse
- Robyn
- Awards
- National Medal of Technology IEEE Medal of Honor Internet Hall of Fame IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal (1988) ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award Marconi Prize (2003) Computer History Museum Fellow Awards (2008) Turing Award (2022)
- Fields
- Computer networking Computer science
- Institutions
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology Xerox PARC 3Com IDG/InfoWorld Polaris Venture Partners University of Texas at Austin
- Thesis
- Packet Communication (1973)
- Doctoral advisor
- Jeffrey P. Buzen
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Brooklyn
- Occupation
- mathematician
- Employer
- University of Texas at Austin
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Award
- Turing Award
- Notable work
- Ethernet
- Field of work
- computer science
- Image
- With Bob Metcalfe (cropped).jpg
Show 9 more facts
- Commons category
- Robert Metcalfe
- date of birth
- 1946-04-07
- name in native language
- Bob Metcalfe
- Commons Creator page
- Robert Metcalfe
- Commons gallery
- Robert Metcalfe
- member of
- National Academy of Engineering
- social media followers
- 24433
- on focus list of Wikimedia project
- Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
- maintained by WikiProject
- WikiProject Mathematics
via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
Robert "Bob" Melancton Metcalfe (born April 7, 1946) is an American engineer and entrepreneur who contributed to the development of the internet in the 1970s. He co-invented Ethernet, co-founded 3Com, and formulated Metcalfe's law, which describes the effect of a telecommunications network. Metcalfe has also made several predictions which failed to come to pass, including forecasting the demise of the internet during the 1990s.
Metcalfe has received various awards, including the IEEE Medal of Honor and National Medal of Technology and Innovation for his work developing Ethernet technology. In 2023, he received the Turing Award, the highest distinction in computer science. From 2011 to 2021, he was professor of innovation and entrepreneurship at the University of Texas at Austin.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Robert Metcalfe” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.