Internet pioneer Vinton G. Cerf joins the International Science Council as a Patron

In this role he will work with ISC Patrons Mary Robinson, former President of the Republic of Ireland, and Ismail Serageldin, Founder of the Library of Alexandria, to advance science and advocate for its role in responding to contemporary global challenges. Vint will participate in the Global Knowledge Dialogue which will take place in Muscat, Oman, on 12-13 October 2021, immediately following the ISC General Assembly.

Vint Cerf is one of the architects of the modern Internet, having co-designed the TCP/IP protocol which defines how computers communicate in a networked system. Since October 2005, he has served at Google, where he is now responsible for public sector business development for advanced, Internet-based products and services.

“Science and technology, and their potential to address crucial global challenges, have been transformed by the arrival of the Internet and by the digital revolution. Today, international scientific collaboration and the everyday practice of scientists would be unthinkable without the Internet. It is therefore highly fitting that Internet pioneer Vint Cerf is joining the ISC as a Patron, and I am delighted to announce his appointment,” said Daya Reddy, President of the ISC.

Cerf is a former member of the US National Science Board and current member of the National Academy of Engineering, the NASA Advisory Committee and the Visiting Committee for Advanced Technology for the US National Institute of Standards and Technology. He is also a Foreign Member of the UK Royal Society and Swedish Royal Academy of Engineering, and Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and The Chartered Institute for IT (BCS). He has received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, US National Medal of Technology, Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, Prince of Asturias Award, Japan Prize, ACM Turing Award, Légion d’Honneur, the Franklin Medal, the Catalunya International Prize and 29 honorary degrees.

“I consider it an extraordinary honour to participate in the work of the International Science Council. At a time when science is most needed, cross-disciplinary collaboration is vital to our global economic and social well-being,” said Cerf.

The ISC is the only non-governmental organization bringing together the natural and social sciences at the global level to catalyse and convene scientific expertise, advice and influence on major issues of concern to both science and society. The ISC’s recently published Action Plan for 2019-2021 identifies a number of priorities for action across four key domains: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; The Digital Revolution; Science in Policy and Public Discourse; and the Evolution of Science Systems.

About the International Science Council

The International Science Council (ISC) is a non-governmental organization with a growing global membership of more than 40 international scientific unions and associations, and more than 140 national and regional scientific organizations including academies and research councils. Through its members and associates, its partnerships with other international scientific organizations, and its wider networks of expertise, the Council is unique in its capacity to bring together and integrate scientific excellence and science-policy expertise from all fields of science and all regions of the world.

More information about ISC is available on its website www.council.science.

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Mathieu Denis
ISC Science Director
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