Robert Metcalfe
Professor
University of Texas at Austin
Robert Melancton "Bob" Metcalfe is an electrical engineer from the United States who co-invented
Ethernet, founded 3Com and formulated Metcalfe's Law. As of January 2006, he is a general partner of
Polaris Venture Partners. Starting in January 2011, he holds the position of Professor of Electrical
Engineering and Director of Innovation at The University of Texas at Austin.[3]
While pursuing a doctorate in computer science, Metcalfe took a job with MIT's Project MAC after
Harvard refused to let him be responsible for connecting the school to the brand-new ARPAnet. At
MIT's Project MAC, Metcalfe was responsible for building some of the hardware that would link MIT's
minicomputers with the ARPAnet. Metcalfe was so enamored with ARPAnet, he made it the topic of his
doctoral dissertation. However, Harvard flunked him. His inspiration for a new dissertation came while
working at Xerox PARC where he read a paper about the ALOHA network at the University of Hawaii.
He identified and fixed some of the bugs in the AlohaNet model and made his analysis part of a revised
thesis, which finally earned him his Harvard PhD in 1973.
Metcalfe was working at Xerox PARC in 1973 when he and David Boggs invented Ethernet, a standard
for connecting computers over short distances. Metcalfe identifies the day Ethernet was born as May 22,
1973, the day he circulated a memo titled "Alto Ethernet" which contained a rough schematic of how it
would work.
In 1979, Metcalfe departed PARC and founded 3Com, a manufacturer of computer networking
equipment. In 1980 he received the Association for Computing Machinery Grace Murray Hopper Award
for his contributions to the development of local networks, specifically Ethernet. In 1990 Metcalfe left
3Com and began a 10 year stint as a publisher and pundit, writing an Internet column for InfoWorld. He
became a venture capitalist in 2001 and is now a General Partner at Polaris Venture Partners. In 1997,
he cofounded Pop!Tech, an executive technology conference.
In November 2010 Metcalfe was selected to lead innovation initiatives at The University of Texas at
Austin Cockrell School of Engineering. He began his appointment in January 2011. Metcalfe was
awarded the IEEE Medal of Honor in 1996 for "exemplary and sustained leadership in the development,
standardization, and commercialization of Ethernet.
Metcalfe received the National Medal of Technology from President Bush in a White House ceremony
on March 14, 2003, "for leadership in the invention, standardization, and commercialization of Ethernet",
having been selected for the honor in 2003.
In May 2007, along with 17 others, Metcalfe, was inducted to the National Inventors Hall of Fame in
Akron, Ohio, for his work with Ethernet technology. In October 2008 Metcalfe received the Fellow
Award from the Computer History Museum.
Metcalfe graduated from MIT in 1969 with two B.S. degrees, one in Electrical Engineering and the other
in Industrial Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He then went to Harvard for
graduate school, earning his M.S. in 1970.