The Internet Society inducts eight new pioneers into the Internet Hall of Fame, honoring their visionary work in global Internet development and access.
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| Honoring global pioneers in Internet innovation, the 2025 Internet Hall of Fame celebrates contributions that made the web faster, inclusive, and more accessible. Image: CH |
Washington, United States – September 17, 2025:
The Internet Society has announced the 2025 Internet Hall of Fame inductees, honoring eight individuals whose visionary work has helped shape, expand, and democratize the Internet over the past decades. This year’s class celebrates global pioneers whose efforts have connected billions, advanced technical standards, and made the Internet more accessible, secure, and inclusive.
Among this year’s inductees is Ram Mohan, whose transformative work brought native language support to the Internet. His transition of the web from ASCII to Unicode, particularly in collaboration with Arab language experts, enabled billions of non-English speakers to engage online in their own languages.
South Korea’s Hyunje Park is also recognized for establishing Asia’s first IPv4 network and delivering high-speed broadband to Korea in record time—even during the 1997 financial crisis—paving the way for the region’s digital leadership.
Kirk Lougheed, co-creator of the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), earned his place for sketching what would become one of the most critical routing protocols in Internet history—famously conceived on two napkins in 1989. BGP laid the foundation for scaling the Internet from a few nodes to the billions of interconnected systems that exist today.
Dong Liu of China is celebrated for his leadership in IPv6 deployment, including launching the world’s largest IPv6 testing lab and first public DNS resolver. His work supports a future-ready Internet, facilitating the growth of smart devices, AI services, and mobile apps.
Swedish Internet interoperability pioneer Patrik Fältström made the Internet usable for everyone, regardless of language. His work on Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) allowed users to include special characters in domain names and emails—an essential step in global digital inclusion.
Also honored is John S. Quarterman, known as the “Internet Cartographer.” His detailed visualizations and books helped document the explosive growth of the Internet. His influential 1994 “Matrix Maps” are said to have inspired tech leaders—including Jeff Bezos—to explore the Internet’s potential.
Two posthumous awards were given to giants of Internet history. The late Dr. Tarek Kamel, often called the “Father of the Internet” in Egypt, was instrumental in bringing Internet access to Egypt and neighboring Arab nations. His leadership championed multistakeholder governance and policy collaboration.
Joyce Reynolds, who passed in 2015, was recognized for her foundational work in developing and maintaining the Request for Comments (RFC) system. RFCs underpin the technical architecture of the Internet and are essential to every email, file transfer, and video call made today.
Sally Wentworth, President and CEO of the Internet Society, praised the inductees: “These Internet pioneers sparked new ideas and persevered even when the conditions were unfavorable to them. They didn’t just create protocols and standards; they created a culture of open innovation where the next great idea could come from anyone, anywhere in the world.”
The Internet Hall of Fame, established in 2012, honors individuals who have played extraordinary roles in the Internet’s development and advancement. The 2025 inductees embody the collaborative and inclusive spirit that continues to define the Internet’s global promise.