E-Mail, Internet Pioneer at Verizon's BBN Technologies Earns Webby Award for Lifetime Achievement

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The scientist who put the "@" in e-mail addresses and sent the first e-mail has been honored for a lifetime of Internet and computer networking achievements.

Ray Tomlinson, principal engineer at Verizon's BBN Technologies, has been honored by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences with the organization's first ever Lifetime Achievement Award. He received the award at the 5^th Annual Webby Awards ceremony held recently in San Francisco.

"We are extremely proud of Ray for his historic achievements to e-mail, as well as his other networking achievements," said Mark Wegleitner, Verizon's chief technology officer. "We are delighted this prestigious organization chose to honor him for a lifetime of innovation."

"The Webby Awards are recognition of the force the Internet has in our lives and how many bright, creative people work in this area," said Tomlinson. "Now people are digging into the history of the Internet, trying to understand what made it so big, and e-mail is certainly one of the important factors."

"BBN was at the forefront in 1971, and we're still at the forefront of network research and the development
of network applications and technologies," said Tomlinson.

Tomlinson has worked at BBN for 34 years. In addition to his groundbreaking work on e-mail and computer networking, he contributed to the design of several important network protocols, including the ARPANET, the forerunner of today's Internet. He also played key roles in the development of time-shared computing. Currently, he is working on a project to help the survivability, security, and scalability of distributed network applications.

Tomlinson earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a member of Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu. He has published and presented extensively on processor hardware design, distributed network architecture, networking protocols, time sharing and speech synthesis.

The Webby Awards are given annually to honor the best Web site sites and individual achievement in technology and creativity.

BBN Technologies

BBN Technologies, a Verizon Communications company, was established as Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc. in 1948. From its roots as an acoustical design consulting firm, to the implementation and operation of the ARPANET - the forerunner of today's Internet - to the development of the first network email, which established the @ sign as an icon for the digital age, BBN Technologies provides the same technical expertise and innovation to both government
and commercial customers today. These areas of expertise include: system integration; distributed, collaborative applications; speech recognition; language understanding; wireless and satellite networking; network architecture and management; information security; structural acoustics; sensor signal processing; and real-time, multi-processor systems. With more than 700
employees in 10 offices across the country, BBN Technologies had revenues in 2000 of approximately $118M. For more information on BBN Technologies, go to www.bbn.com. For more information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com.

The Webby Awards

The Webby Awards is the leading international honor for Web sites and individual achievement in technology and creativity. The critically acclaimed theatre production attended by 3000 people, includes films, animations, installation art and performances. The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences selects the nominees, winners, and presents the awards event. Sponsors and Partners for The Fifth Annual Webby Awards include Intel, Adobe, IDG, The Creative Group, Commission Junction, EarthLink, WorldCom, ABCNews.com, Hewlett-Packard, Rare Medium, ATTIK, Getty Images, Metropolis Editorial, Diesel Design, AVHQ, Entertainment Weekly, Variety, Wired, Artbyte, and CNET Radio. Balloting is
audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers. For more information visit www.webbyawards.com.

The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences

The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences is dedicated to the creative, technical, and professional progress of the Internet and evolving forms of interactive media. The Academy's goal is to assemble a brilliant panel of leading new media experts, visionaries, journalists, and luminaries to propel
the Internet and Interactive Technology into the future. The Academy is an intellectually diverse organization that includes over 350 members such as film director Francis Ford Coppola, musician Bjork, Chairman of Miramax Talk Media Tina Brown, cyberguru Esther Dyson, creator of "The Simpsons" Matt Groening, Public Radio International Personality Ira Glass, and Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison. Members also include writers and editors from publications such as The New York Times, Wired, Forbes, Details, Fast Company, Elle, The Los Angeles Times, Vibe, and WallPaper. For more information, visit