Internet pioneers to discuss net and humanities

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — One of the fathers of the internet and a former chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities will lead a conversation about the implications and opportunities of technology and the humanities.

"A Conversation with Vint Cerf and Bruce Cole," free and open to the public, will be at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 30 in the Nancy T. Hansen Theater in Yue-Kong Pao Hall. The event is part of the ongoing College of Liberal Arts series, At the Intersection of Liberal Arts and STEM.

Bruce Cole, former chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Vint Cerf, vice president and chief internet evangelist for Google, will discuss the impact of digital technologies on the humanities and the challenges and opportunities to reconsider areas of study that have traditionally focused on language and the written word.

"Together, Bruce Cole and Vint Cerf embody the phrase 'intersection of liberal arts and STEM,'" said David A. Reingold, Justin S. Morrill Dean of Purdue's College of Liberal Arts. "They offer a uniquely informed perspective on what it means to bring together the humanities and technology both in terms of possibilities we are imagining in new ways every day and the important practical implications that can shape our thinking about the broad term 'digital humanities.'"

Cerf contributes to Google's global policy development and continued spread of the internet. He has served in executive positions at the Internet Society, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the American Registry for Internet Numbers, MCI, the Corporation for National Research Initiatives, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and on the faculty of Stanford University.

Cerf has received numerous awards and commendations in connection with his work on the internet, including the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom, U.S. National Medal of Technology, the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, the Prince of Asturias Award, the Japan Prize, the Charles Stark Draper Award, the ACM Turing Award, the Legion d'Honneur and 25 honorary degrees.

Cole is the longest-serving chairman of the National Endowment of the Humanities, appointed by President George W. Bush.  In that role, he was responsible for awards totaling over $800 million and established national programs such as "We The People" and the "Picturing America project."

The Intersection of Liberal Arts + STEM is a series of events that highlights how liberal arts, science, technology, engineering and math fields are enriched and have greater capacity for meaningful change when the disciplines intersect. 

Writer: Gabrielle Hlavek, ghlavek@purdue.edu

Media Contact: Howard Hewitt, 765-494-9541, hhewitt@purdue.edu