Peter Thomas Kirstein (born Kirschstein; June 20, 1933 – January 8, 2020) was a British computer scientist who helped create the Internet. In 1973, he made the first connection between the ARPANET and British university networks. He also worked with Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn to develop and use the TCP/IP system, which is essential for how the Internet functions. Kirstein is often called the "father of the European Internet."

Education and early life

Kirstein was born on June 20, 1933, in Berlin, Germany. He was the son of Eleanor (Jacobsohn) and Walter Kirschstein. His parents were dentists, and his father received the Iron Cross during World War I. Kirstein’s family was Jewish, and his mother had British citizenship because she was born in London. Because of the dangers in Germany under Nazi rule, the family moved to the United Kingdom in 1937.

Kirstein attended Highgate School in North London. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Cambridge in 1954. Later, he received a Master of Science degree and a PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1955 and 1957, respectively. In 1970, he was awarded a Doctor of Science (DSc) in engineering from the University of London.

Career and research

He worked as a staff member at CERN from 1959 to 1963. He conducted research for General Electric in Zurich from 1963 to 1967. He met Vint Cerf in 1967.

Kirstein was a professor at the University of London Institute of Computer Science (ICS) from 1970 to 1973. In 1973, he joined the faculty at University College London, where he became the first head of the computer science department from 1980 to 1994. He supervised Jon Crowcroft. Kirstein helped Queen Elizabeth send her first official email message in 1976.

Building on the work of Donald Davies at the National Physical Laboratory in the 1960s, Kirstein’s research group at University College London became one of only two international connections to the ARPANET in 1973, along with Norway (NORSAR and NDRE). University College London then created a gateway that connected the ARPANET to British academic networks, forming the first system for sharing resources across networks.

Research led by Bob Kahn at DARPA and Vint Cerf at Stanford University and later DARPA led to the creation of the Transmission Control Program (TCP). The first official description of TCP, called RFC 675, was written by Cerf, Yogen Dalal, and Carl Sunshine in December 1974. In 1975, testing began with simultaneous projects at Stanford, University College London, and BBN. The ARPANET connection to University College London later expanded into the trans-Atlantic SATNET. In 1977, a two-way, then a three-way experiment linked University College London through SATNET to nodes on the ARPANET and to a mobile vehicle in PRNET.

Kirstein and his team were involved in the Internet Experiment Note meetings starting in March 1977. His research group at University College London played an important role in the earliest experiments that led to the development of TCP/IP. In 1978, Kirstein co-authored a major early paper with Vint Cerf about connecting different computer networks. He led the International Cooperation Board (ICB), created by Cerf in 1979, to help coordinate research on packet satellite technology. University College London adopted TCP/IP in November 1982, before the ARPANET, becoming one of the first nodes on the Internet.

In early 1983, Kirstein led the International Collaboration Board, which included six NATO countries. He also served on the Networking Panel of the NATO Science Committee (as chair in 2001) and on advisory committees for the Australian Research Council, the Canadian Department of Communications, the German GMD, and the Indian Education and Research Network (ERNET) Project. He led the Silk Project, which provided satellite-based Internet access to newly independent countries in the Southern Caucasus and Central Asia.

Kirstein was given the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his work on the Internet. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng), a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, an Honorary Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society. He received the SIGCOMM Award in 1999 for helping people understand large-scale networks through international testbeds. He also received the Postel Award in 2003 and other honors for his contributions to the Internet. In 2009, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his work in computer networking and for leading efforts to bring the Internet to Europe.

In 2012, Kirstein was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame by the Internet Society. In 2015, he was awarded the Marconi Prize.

Personal life

Kirstein passed away from a brain tumor on January 8, 2020, at his home. Soon after he passed away, Steve Hailes, Head of the Department of Computer Science at UCL, wrote about him: