Vinton G. Cerf, one of the founding fathers of the Internet, might soon be feeling the pangs of empty-nest syndrome: This week his term as chairman of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers will expire, the Associated Press reports.
Mr. Cerf joined the board of ICANN, which regulates domain names and Internet Protocol addresses, in 1999, about a year after the nonprofit group was founded. The organization has generated a good deal of debate since he signed on: Some critics have charged ICANN with being insufficiently transparent, and others have argued that the group should be made more international. In 2005 a number of developing nations fought to replace ICANN with an international consortium, but Mr. Cerf managed to keep the group intact.
Mr. Cerf’s eight years at the head of ICANN might be up, but the computing expert shouldn’t have too much trouble keeping busy. He is still a senior executive at Google, and he tells the AP that he’s working on five different books. —Brock Read
