Uncapher, Keith William, 1992-2002

Keith W. Uncapher was born in Denver in 1922. He spent five years in the Navy during World War II and received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the California Polytechnic Institute in 1950. After graduating, he began working for the RAND Corporation and eventually became the director of its computer science division. During the 1960s, he was the supervisor of Paul Baran, the engineer who developed the fundamentals of packet switching. In 1972, Uncapher left RAND to start the Information Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California. While he was managing the Institute, researchers there developed the Internet's domain name system as well as a more economical method for producing silicon chips.

In 1987, Uncapher joined the Corporation for National Research Initiatives. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineers in 1988. Uncapher was an adviser throughout his career to the United States military on technological matters.

Source: "Keith W. Uncapher, Networking Pioneer, 80" The New York Times, October 16, 2002 (accessed September 24, 2009).