Vinton Cerf was born June 23, 1943, in New Haven, Connecticut. Cerf is credited with being one the founders of the modern Internet as we know it whilst working alongside Robert Kahn. As far as education Cerf received a bachelors degree in mathematics from Stanford University where he then joined UCLA for his masters and doctorate degrees in computer science. Upon finishing those in 1972 he returned to Stanford as a professor in computer science and electrical engineering. He and a few partners wanted to create the first network based on packet switching. This essentially became the Internet. Cerf also worked on creating the first email service in the early 80s. Since then, he has worked at different companies all over seeing the Internet in some way, these include, MCI Communications Corporation, Corporation for National Research Initiatives, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, and Google Incorporated. Beyond inventing the Internet, he has also worked in building cyber security for his invention. For these accomplishments he has been awarded the U.S. National Academy of Engineering's Charles Stark Draper Prize in 2001, the Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research in 2002, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005, the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering in 2013, the French Legion of Honour in 2014, and finally the A.M. Turning Award in 2004 which is known as the highest award in computer science.
