The award is now worth $1 million thanks to Google sponsorship, and it is yet another milestone in Metcalfe’s illustrious career. After leaving Xerox PARC, he created 3com, a networking equipment firm that popularised Ethernet. “It is risky to receive an award for designing Ethernet, which will be 50 years old on May 22, 2023,” Metcalfe told the University of Texas, where he is now a professor emeritus. “Hundreds of individuals have claimed inventorship of Ethernet during its 50-year history.” “Please join me in thanking these people.”
