Women’s History Month: Let’s take a moment to step into the Internet Hall of Fame
Fort Campbell, KY (March 26, 2021) -Here you will find some of the most influential people in the world of broadband. Some are computer scientists, mathematicians or engineers, while many others are inventors, business leaders, and forward thinkers with dreams and a passion for technology.
Today’s focus is inductee Elizabeth “Jake” Feinler, an American information scientist. She was the first member of her family to attend college, earning and bachelor’s degree before pursuing higher education in her field of interest, biochemistry. Fate had plans for Feinler, however, and during a stint of employment while in her Ph.D. program at Purdue University, she realized her love for cataloging and data analysis. Feinler left her biochemistry background behind and took a job working for the Stanford Research Institute as an Information Researcher.
Feinler did not stop there, though. She learned as much as she could about the data world, joining others at the Augmented Research Center and working her way to principal investigator of the Network Information Center. From there, she helped develop the Domain Name System commonly known in today’s World Wide Web usage, managing the name registries for top-domains such as: .com, .edu, .gov, .mil, and .org.
Fast forward to the late 1980s, when Feinler found herself at NASA, where she managed the NASA Science Internet at the Ames Research Center. After her retirement, she received the Jonathan B. Postel Service Award"for her contributions to the early development and administration of the Internet through her leadership of the Network Information Center (NIC)…”
Feinler was a pioneer in the broadband world. She managed the influx of websites and creation of webpages long before there were programs like the domain creator “GoDaddy.” Today, Feinler spends her retirement volunteering for various research centers and information libraries, even at 90 years old. We salute you and your contributions, Elizabeth Feinler, and appreciate the roads you have paved for women in the technology world.
About the Author: Jessica Golson is a facilitator for Digital Works at Fort Campbell. She is responsible for a wide range of training activities designed to teach, develop, improve, and maintain individuals' necessary skill sets, place them in remote job positions, and also prepare them for jobs requiring greater skills.