Tonight (27 Sep 2019) you can watch the 2019 Internet Hall of Fame induction ceremony streaming live out of Costa Rica at:

https://livestream.com/internetsociety/ihof2019

The ceremony begins at 5:30pm CST/MDT (UTC-6). The session will be recorded if you are unable to watch live.

Eleven individuals from six countries will be inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame (IHOF) today. The 2019 class of inductees have expanded the Internet’s reach into new regions and communities, helped foster a greater understanding of the way the Internet works, and enhanced security to increase user trust in the network.

An Internet Society press release listed the eleven new inductees:

• Adiel Akplogan (Africa) advanced Internet development in Togo and across Africa, and served as founding CEO of the Regional Internet Registry for Africa
• Kimberly Claffy (United States) pioneered the field of Internet data collection, measurement and analysis
• Douglas Comer (United States) wrote the first series of authoritative textbooks explaining the scientific principles of the Internet’s design and its communications protocols
• Elise Gerich (United States) was instrumental in the transition of the NSFNET to the modern-day Internet and of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority functions from stewardship of the U.S. government to a multistakeholder community
• Larry Irving (United States) was a driving force behind the identification of the Digital Divide in the U.S, igniting global interest in the issue
• Dan Lynch (United States) drove adoption of TCP/IP protocols and played a key role in driving the Internet towards a commercial network
• Jean Armour Polly (United States) pioneered free Internet access in public libraries
• José Soriano (Peru) was a leader in bringing the Internet to Peru and designed a replicable “public Internet” model
• Michael Stanton (Brazil) was instrumental in bringing the Internet to Brazil, and continues to participate in the design and deployment of scalable optical networks in South America and around the world
• Klaas Wierenga (Netherlands) invented eduroam, an international Wi-Fi roaming service for academic and research communities in over 100 countries
• Suguru Yamaguchi (Japan) was a cybersecurity research pioneer and global leader in its deployment; founded Asia Pacific broadband Internet research and educational network project via satellite

More information and full biographies can be found on the IHOF 2019 inductees section of the IHOF site.

Congratulations to all the 2019 inductees! Thank you for all you have done to make the Internet better.