Farber Elected 2018 AAAS Fellow

David Farber of the Institute for Software Research is one of two Carnegie Mellon University faculty members named 2018 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

The AAAS honor recognizes Farber, sometimes called the "Grandfather of the Internet," for distinguished contributions to programming languages and computer networking. Farber joined CMU in 2002. He served as Distinguished Career Professor of Computer Science and Public Policy, and is now an adjunct professor.

Earlier this year, Farber became a Distinguished Professor at Keio University in Tokyo, where he is co-director of the Cyber Civilization Research Center.

This year, 416 members have been named AAAS fellows because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. In addition to Farber, they include Gregory V. Lowry, the Walter J. Blenko Sr. Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, who is cited for his contributions to safe and sustainable use of nanomaterials, remediation methods for contaminated sediments and brines, and mitigation of fossil fuel use impacts.

Farber's distinguished career spans more than 50 years, including a stint as chief technologist for the Federal Communications Commission. He was the Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Telecommunication Systems at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School before joining CMU.

Farber has made foundational contributions to electronics, programming languages and distributed computing. He also is moderator of the long-running Interesting People email list, which focuses on internet governance, infrastructure and other topics he favors. He also is known for his way with words and known Farberisms, such as "another day, a different dollar," and "don't look for a gift in the horse's mouth."

His work has earned him countless awards and honors, including induction as an IEEE fellow, ACM fellow, the 1995 SIGCOMM Award for lifelong contributions to computer communications, and a spot in the Pioneers Circle of the Internet Hall of Fame.

The new AAAS fellows will be inducted on Saturday, Feb. 16, at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.