Eduardo Tadao Takahashi (16 December 1950 – 6 April 2022) was a Brazilian computer scientist and researcher who was credited with contributions toward planning, deployment, and adoption of the

internet in Brazil Internet in Brazil was launched in 1988, becoming commercially available in May 1995. As of 2023, Brazil ranked fifth in the world with 181.8 million internet users. The country had an internet penetration rate of 86.6% as of January 2024. In July 2 ...

and other Latin American countries. He was a founding director of Brazil's National Research Network (RNP), an academic network that coordinated actions toward setting up the country's national internet backbone. He was inducted into the

Internet Hall of Fame The Internet Hall of Fame is an honorary lifetime achievement award administered by the Internet Society (ISOC) in recognition of individuals who have made significant contributions to the development and advancement of the Internet. Overview ...

in 2017.

Biography

Takahashi was the founder and the first director of the National Research Network (RNP), a Brazilian academic network that in the early days of the internet coordinated with other national academic networks to form what would become the backbone of the global internet and the foundation for Brazilian internet. At the RNP, he advanced an inclusive and bottom-up approach to network management that was one of the earliest models for global internet governance before the model developed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). He was associated with the organization from 1989 to 1996. Takahashi was also the founder and chair of the National Program for the Information Society (SOCINFO), a Brazilian initiative to expand the penetration of the internet in key sectors, including healthcare, education, and government services. He also advanced key

Information and communications technology Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computer ...

policy initiatives of multilateral bodies including the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

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, and the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

, towards promoting the uptake of internet within Brazil as a contributor to its social and economic development. In his contributions towards enabling internet access in some of the most remote regions of Latin America, he was noted to have even negotiated with

drug lords A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin, or lord of drugs is a type of crime boss in charge of a drug trafficking network, organization, or enterprise. Crime barons may be difficult to bring to justice: usually, they do not possess illegal goods. Ra ...

to seek their permission to install equipment in order to enable internet access in areas controlled by them. He was a member of Brazil's Internet Steering Committee between 1995 and 1996, and later from 1999 to 2002. He was also a member of the ICANN's membership advisory committee in 1999. Takahashi was inducted into the

as a global connector in 2017. He held degrees in computer science, social communication, and informatics from

University of Campinas The University of Campinas (), commonly called Unicamp, is a public research university in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Brazil. Established in 1962, Unicamp was designed from scratch as an integrated Research institute, researc ...

Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas The Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas (, PUC-Campinas; ) is a private and non-profit Catholic university, located in Campinas, the second largest city in the State of São Paulo. The university is maintained by the Catholic Archdiocese o ...

, and

Tokyo Institute of Technology The Tokyo Institute of Technology () was a public university in Meguro, Tokyo, Japan. It merged with Tokyo Medical and Dental University to form the Institute of Science Tokyo on 1 October 2024. The Tokyo Institute of Technology was a De ...

in Japan, respectively. Takahashi died in

Campinas Campinas (, ''Plains'' or ''Meadows'') is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in São Paulo (state), São Paulo State, part of the country's Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region. According to the 2020 estimate, the city's popul ...

on 6 April 2022, aged 71, from a heart attack.

References

External links

Takahashi
at the

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Takahashi, Tadao 2022 deaths Brazilian computer scientists Brazilian people of Japanese descent State University of Campinas alumni Tokyo Institute of Technology alumni 20th-century Brazilian scientists 21st-century Brazilian scientists 1950 births Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas alumni