Radia Perlman and Her Countless Contributions to the Internet
International Women in Engineering Day is a special day to honor women in the field of engineering. This year, we are honoring the achievements of Radia Perlman – an American computer scientist and network engineer whose invention of the Spanning Tree Protocol earned her the nickname “Mother of the Internet.”
Who is Radia Perlman?
Born in 1952, Dr. Radia Perlman grew up under the influence of her parents who were both engineers. She excelled in mathematics and science and found both subjects "effortless and fascinating". Aside from this, she also took an interest in the arts, including poetry, literature, and playing musical instruments.
In 1969, Dr. Perlman began attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), finishing a master's degree in mathematics. During her stay, she was hired as a part-time programmer at the MIT AI Lab, where she learned how to program.
A few years later, Dr. Perlman accepted a job offer at Bolt, Beranek, and Newman Technologies (now Raytheon BBN), where she spent her time developing and designing network equipment and protocols. While there, she invented an algorithm, the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), to solve one of the most challenging information routing problems.
Today, Dr. Perlman holds over 100 issued patents and has received multiple lifetime awards. She was also inducted into both the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the Internet Hall of Fame.
Photo source: Wikipedia
What is the Spanning Tree Protocol?
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is a networking protocol that allows network administrators to control how data is routed through their networks. It works by finding the optimal path for data to travel from one node to another. All nodes in a network are then connected according to the optimal path that STP finds, creating what is known as a spanning tree of nodes. By implementing STP, network administrators can ensure that data is routed in an efficient way throughout their networks, while preventing loops and optimizing overall performance.
Photo source: Wikipedia
On this International Women in Engineering Day, lets celebrate Dr. Radia Perlman and all of the women in engineering fields who are changing the world.