David J. Farber (born April 17, 1934) is a professor of
computer science
Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includi ...
, noted for his major contributions to
programming language
A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language.
The description of a programming ...
s and
computer networking
A computer network is a set of computers sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. The computers use common communication protocols over digital interconnections to communicate with each other. These interconnections are ...
. He is currently the Distinguished Professor and Co-Director of Cyber Civilization Research Center at
Keio University in Japan. He has been called the "grandfather of the Internet".
Career
Farber graduated from the
Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology is a private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely dedicated to mechanical ...
with a M.E. degree in electrical engineering in 1956 and a second M.S. degree in mathematics in 1961.
He then began an 11-year career at
Bell Laboratories
Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984),
then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996)
and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007),
is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...
, where he helped design the first electronic switching system (
ESS-1) and the
SNOBOL
SNOBOL ("StriNg Oriented and symBOlic Language") is a series of programming languages developed between 1962 and 1967 at AT&T Bell Laboratories by David J. Farber, Ralph E. Griswold and Ivan P. Polonsky, culminating in SNOBOL4. It was one of ...
programming languages. He subsequently held industry positions at the
Rand Corporation and
Scientific Data Systems
Scientific Data Systems (SDS), was an American computer company founded in September 1961 by Max Palevsky and Robert Beck, veterans of Packard Bell Corporation and Bendix, along with eleven other computer scientists. SDS was an early adopter of ...
, followed by academic positions at the
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and p ...
, the
University of Delaware
The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 ma ...
, and
Carnegie Mellon University. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in engineering from the Stevens Institute in 1999.
At Irvine his research work was focused on creating the world's first operational distributed computer system. While a member of the electrical engineering department of the
University of Delaware
The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 ma ...
, he helped conceive and organize the major American research networks
CSNET The Computer Science Network (CSNET) was a computer network that began operation in 1981 in the United States. Its purpose was to extend networking benefits, for computer science departments at academic and research institutions that could not be di ...
,
NSFNet
The National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET) was a program of coordinated, evolving projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) from 1985 to 1995 to promote advanced research and education networking in the United States. The p ...
, and the
National Research and Education Network
A national research and education network (NREN) is a specialised internet service provider dedicated to supporting the needs of the research and education communities within a country.
It is usually distinguished by support for a high-speed backb ...
(NREN). He helped create the NSF/DARPA-funded Gigabit Network Test bed Initiative and served as the Chairman of the Gigabit Test bed Coordinating Committee.
Farber subsequently was appointed Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Telecommunication Systems at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
where he also held appointments as Professor of Business and Public Policy at the
Wharton School of Business
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...
and as a Faculty Associate of the
Annenberg School for Communication. He served as Chief Technologist at the US
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
(2000–2001) while on leave from the university.
Farber is a founding editor of ICANNWatch. He serves on the board of advisers of Context Relevant and The Liquid Information Company.
Honors and community service
Farber is an
AAAS Fellow
Fellowship of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (FAAAS) is an honor accorded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to distinguished persons who are members of the Association. Fellows are electe ...
,
IEEE Fellow
As of 2019, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has 5,082 members designated Fellow, each of whom is associated with one of the 41 societies under the IEEE. The Fellow grade of membership is the highest level of membershi ...
,
ACM Fellow
ACM or A.C.M. may refer to:
Aviation
* AGM-129 ACM, 1990–2012 USAF cruise missile
* Air chief marshal
* Air combat manoeuvring or dogfighting
* Air cycle machine
* Arica Airport (Colombia) (IATA: ACM), in Arica, Amazonas, Colombia
Computing
* ...
, and recipient of the 1995
SIGCOMM Award The SIGCOMM Award recognizes lifetime contribution to the field of communication networks.
The award is presented in the annual SIGCOMM Technical Conference.
The awardees have been:
* 2022 Henning Schulzrinne
* 2021 Hari Balakrishnan
* 2020 Ami ...
for lifelong contributions to computer communications. He has served on the board of directors of the
Electronic Frontier Foundation, the
Electronic Privacy Information Center
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is an independent nonprofit research center in Washington, D.C. EPIC's mission is to focus public attention on emerging privacy and related human rights issues. EPIC works to protect privacy, freedom ...
advisory board, the Board of Trustees of the
Internet Society
The Internet Society (ISOC) is an American nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1992 with local chapters around the world. Its mission is "to promote the open development, evolution, and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people ...
, and as a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee on High Performance Computing and Communications, Information Technology and Next Generation Internet. He runs a large (25,000+ readership) mailing list called Interesting-People. In 2012, in memory of his son, he established the Joseph M. Farber prize at the Stevens Institute of Technology, which recognizes a graduating senior majoring in one of the disciplines of the College of Arts and Letters who displays a keen interest in and concern for civil liberties and their importance in preserving and protecting human rights.
On August 3, 2013, Farber was inducted into the Pioneers Circle of the
Internet Hall of Fame
The Internet Hall of Fame is an honorary lifetime achievement award administered by the Internet Society (ISOC) in recognition of individuals who have made significant contributions to the development and advancement of the Internet. .
He was elected as the AAAS Fellow by the Council of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2018.
References
External links
*
Topicbox: Interesting-People
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farber, David
American computer scientists
Carnegie Mellon University faculty
Fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery
1934 births
Living people
Scientists from Pittsburgh
Programming language designers
Place of birth missing (living people)
Internet pioneers
Fellow Members of the IEEE