September 26, 1946 – April 2, 2003
Nineteen years ago the world lost Internet Hall of Famer, Dr. Barry Leiner. He was one of the Internet’s early pioneers, instrumental in developing its communications protocols… He was a visionary director… And he authored more than 60 publications including Brief History of the Internet.
He was also my cousin. Our fathers were brothers. Barry grew up in Levittown, Long Island with his parents and younger brothers David and Dennis. “All three of us were overachievers right from high school,” recalls Dennis. “We all won mathematics contests.” They also went on to work with technology – Barry and David as electrical engineers, and Dennis as an optical scientist who develops medical devices like endoscopes. One thing about his brother, he says, is that “Barry was logical. He liked things to make sense.” And that was at the heart of his work.
Back in 1973, the “information super highway” was beginning to percolate. Vint Cerf, Ph.D, was a Stanford University engineer collaborating with Bob Kahn, Ph.D at the Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Resources Project Agency (DARPA) – then called ARPA, on what he called a “research experiment.” Their goal was to develop a comprehensive system by which digital networks of varying communications protocols (formats and rules), could interconnect and transmit data over long distances. The two would become known as the “Fathers of the Internet” for developing the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol suite (TCP/IP) – the fundamental architecture of the Internet, and played significant roles in Barry’s life as colleagues and friends. By 1976, Vint joined DARPA and established an informal committee called the Internet Configuration Control Board (ICCB) to guide the technical evolution of the TCP/IP protocol suite. Bob brought in Barry to work with them and in 1980, Barry became assistant director of DARPA’s information processing techniques office. Finally, in 1983, ten years since Vint and Bob joined forces, the Internet was launched and Barry took over Vint’s management of the Internet research program. He restructured the ICCB as the Internet Activities Board (IAB), transforming it into the coordinating committee for task forces involved with Internet design, engineering and management.
In 1985, Barry became assistant director of the NASA Ames Research Center’s Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science (RIACS). In the years between 1990 be 1998 he led research for a defense contractor, was a senior scientist at the Universities Space Research Association, a vice president at Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation, and a special assistant at the Corporation for National Research Initiatives working on digital library systems, electronic payment systems and mobile information systems. He returned to RIACS as its director in 1999, and doubled its staff of scientists to 45, according to SFGate. But after a few years, Barry developed amyothropic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and stepped down to a senior scientist role.
“He viewed management as a support function, and he consistently enabled others to achieve their best,” a former colleague, Ted Linden, shared with SFGate.
In tribute to Barry, Bob Kahn wrote that “the organizational structure of the Internet standards process as we know it today is largely due to the vision and insight of Barry Leiner. His ability to understand how to create social and organizational structures that by their design could motivate individuals to collaborate was at the core of this important contribution. I never knew anyone who was more effective at this than Barry. In the process of developing these structures, he worked closely with Steve Wolff of the National Science Foundation whose political and technical decisions about the structuring of the Internet itself were critically important to the future of the Internet as well.” Bob cited Barry as a dedicated public servant, with a keen eye for addressing issues of national concern. “He strove for accomplishment, for fairness and objectivity, for collaboration and organization, for supporting the community whose talents he greatly appreciated.”
Though Barry envisioned much more future work, ALS would engulf his body in less than two years. Despite his crippling illness his mind stayed sharp and he was able to work from home through his last days. He died on April 2, 2003 at the age of 57. ALS had also taken the lives of his dad Ted and his grandfather Ben.
In 2013, Barry was posthumously inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame by the Internet Society in the category Global Connectors that recognizes “individuals from around the world who have made significant contributions to the global growth and use of the Internet.” The Internet Society was founded in 1992 and has chapters around the world. Its mission is to promote the open development, evolution, and the use of the Internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world.
Barry’s brother David accepted the award on his behalf. In his acceptance speech he said that Barry once told his son to “just make society a better place. We now realize how profound a role he played in doing just that.” He described Barry as having “a remarkable ability to bring together diverse people, organizations, to help make decisions and the plans that became the Internet as we know it today,” and mused, “From what I’ve seen over the past couple of days, the people in this room are passionate and have no shortage of opinions about how to do that. So it must have been quite a challenge.”
Barry is survived by his wife Ellen, daughter Deirdre, son Jason and several grandchildren.
Let’s remember Dr. Barry Leiner for his revolutionizing contributions toward connecting the world. Well done.
– Ken Leiner