ISC recognizes "grandfather of the Internet" Dave Farber

Dave Farber, ISC Board Member from 1994 - 2026

ISC and the entire Internet community are mourning the loss of our friend and colleague, Dave Farber. David J. Farber (April 17, 1934 – February 7, 2026) was one of the original members of the ISC Board of Directors, appointed at ISC’s incorporation in 1994.

Dave was a professor of computer science, noted for his major contributions to programming languages and computer networking.

Dr. Farber graduated from the Stevens Institute of Technology in 1956 and began an 11-year career at Bell Laboratories, where he helped design the first electronic switching system (ESS-1) and the SNOBOL programming languages. He subsequently held industry positions at the Rand Corporation and Scientific Data Systems, followed by academic positions at the University of California, Irvine, and the University of Delaware.

At Irvine his research work was focused on creating the world’s first operational distributed computer system. While a member of the Electrical Engineering Department of the University of Delaware, he helped conceive and organize the major American research networks CSNET, NSFNet, and the National Research and Education Network (NREN). He helped create the NSF/DARPA-funded Gigabit Network Testbed Initiative and served as the Chairman of the Gigabit Testbed Coordinating Committee.

Dave subsequently was appointed Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Telecommunication Systems at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also held appointments as Professor of Business and Public Policy at the Wharton School of Business and as a Faculty Associate of the Annenberg School for Communication. He served as Chief Technologist at the US Federal Communications Commission (2000–2001) while on leave from the university.

He also was a Distinguished Career Professor of Computer Science and Public Policy at the School of Computer Science, Heinz College, and Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University.

In 2018, at the age of 83, Dave moved to Japan to become Distinguished Professor at Keio University and Co-Director of the Keio Cyber Civilization Research Center (CCRC). He loved teaching, and taught his final class on January 22, 2026.

He was a Fellow of the IEEE, ACM, and the AAAS.

Dave was a delightful person, part of the bedrock of the Internet, and a great friend to ISC over the course of decades of board membership. We will miss him.

We extend our deepest condolences to Dave’s family and friends.