David J. Farber, a pioneering computer scientist whose work helped lay the foundations of modern internet networking and who later brought his expertise to Japan as a professor at Keio University, has died at the age of 91.
Farber was a central figure in the development of early research networks that evolved into today¡¯s internet and a longtime board member of the Internet Systems Consortium (ISC), serving from its founding in 1994 until 2026.
Born April 17, 1934, in New Jersey, Farber graduated from the Stevens Institute of Technology in 1956 and began his career at Bell Laboratories, where he helped design the first electronic switching system and contributed to the SNOBOL programming languages. He later held industry roles at Rand and Scientific Data Systems before moving into academia.
At the University of California, Irvine, Farber led research that produced the world¡¯s first operational distributed computer system. While at the University of Delaware, he helped conceive major U.S. research networks including CSNET and NSFNet and played a key role in the Gigabit Network Testbed Initiative.
Farber later joined the University of Pennsylvania as Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Telecommunications and served as chief technologist at the Federal Communications Commission from 2000 to 2001. He also held senior academic posts at Carnegie Mellon University.
In 2018, at age 83, Farber moved to Japan to become a distinguished professor at Keio University and co-director of its Cyber Civilization Research Center. He taught his last class on Jan. 22, mere weeks before his death on Feb. 7.
Keio University posted on Monday its ¡°sincere gratitude for the kindness and support shown to him during his lifetime.¡±
On the same day, the ISC posted an obit on its official website, stating, ¡°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.¡±
Farber received numerous honors for lifetime contributions to communications and internet development, such as the Sigcomm Award for lifelong contributions to communications and the prodigious Philadelphia John Scott award for Contributions to Humanity, as well as an Honorary Doctorate from Stevens and a Pioneer of the Internet Society Hall of Fame.
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