Internet Pioneer Vint Cerf Joins Google

Vint Cerf, known by many as a founding father of the Internet, is joining the online search giant as chief Internet evangelist, Google said Thursday.

Cerf, who helped design the ubiquitous TCP/IP protocol underlying today's Web, has been with MCI on and off since 1982. He took a sabbatical to work at the Corporation for National Research Initiatives from 1986 to 1994, and on his return to MCI in 1994, he helped lead the telecommunications company&s Internet work.

In 2004, Cerf shared the prestigious A.M. Turing Award with Robert Kahn for his work in computer networking. The award is often called the Nobel Prize for computing.

The news of Cerf joining Google somewhat overshadows the Mountain View, Calif., company&s contentious attempt to hire scientist Kai-Fu Lee from rival Microsoft. Microsoft has sued Google over the matter, and a ruling is expected next week.

Cerf also is still involved with the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab's Interplanetary Network. The project seeks to extend the Internet into space for planet-to-planet communications, according to Google said. In addition, Cerf will remain chairman of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).