Adrian V Stokes (25 June 1945 – 7 April 2020) was a British computer scientist who was one of the founders of the internet including the first implementation of email in the UK.

Education

Stokes earned a BSc in Chemistry and a PhD in

Theoretical Chemistry Theoretical chemistry is the branch of chemistry which develops theoretical generalizations that are part of the theoretical arsenal of modern chemistry: for example, the concepts of chemical bonding, chemical reaction, valence, the surface ...

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

and he then went on to specialise in computer science.

Career

In 1973, whilst a research assistant at the

Institute of Computer Science The University of London Institute of Computer Science (ICS) was an Institute based in London in England. The institute was founded by the University of London to support and provide academic research, postgraduate teaching, computer services ...

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

, Adrian was involved with a research team who were working on

ARPANET The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first wide-area packet-switched network with distributed control and one of the first networks to implement the TCP/IP protocol suite. Both technologies became the technical foun ...

, the experimental computer network of the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...

. ARPANET became the Internet in the mid-1970s, and one of Adrian's responsibilities was the implementation of email in the UK.

Personal life

Stokes had

spina bifida Spina bifida (Latin for 'split spine'; SB) is a birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the spine and the membranes around the spinal cord during early development in pregnancy. There are three main types: spina bifida occulta, m ...

. He campaigned on behalf of people with disabilities for decades. He was the president of Disabled Motoring UK.

Awards and honours

Stokes was made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) for services to disabled people in 1983. Stokes was recognised as one of the founders of the internet with a plaque by Stanford University.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stokes, Adrian V. 1945 births Mill Hill British computer scientists Alumni of University College London Officers of the Order of the British Empire People with spina bifida 2020 deaths