Past Winners of the USENIX Lifetime Achievement Award

2001: The GNU Project and all its contributors

Awarded for the ubiquity, breadth, and quality of its freely available redistributable and modifiable software, which has enabled a generation of research and commercial development.

The GNU Project software tools have changed the way the computer world operates. Today it is difficult to imagine how most of us could do systems work without tools that originated with or derived from GNU code. Much wide-ranging research is based on GNU tools. And in the computing world at large, millions of us have benefited and continue to benefit from the hard work and insight of the GNU Project.

Read the award acceptance remarks given by Robert J. Chassell at the 2001 USENIX Annual Technical Conference.

2000: Richard Stevens

Awarded for his contributions to the understanding of TCP/IP, UNIX and network programming, his teaching, and his involvement with USENIX.

Stevens is being honored with this award for contributions to the understanding of TCP/IP, UNIX and network programming, extradordinarily lucid teaching, and his generous spirit within the community. Stevens passed away September 1, 1999, and his wife, Sally Stevens, his children, and sister Claire accepted the award on his behalf.

Many books have been written about both TCP/IP and UNIX, but what makes Steven's books outstanding was his approach to writing. Rather than repeating information found in standards or documentation, Stevens researched the way system calls and networking protocols really worked. He would try his examples on at least four different types of systems, and he published the examples he used to explore these software systems, including over 10,000 lines of C code in just one book. His three volume work, TCP/IP Illustrated, was so complete and true to reality that it is used as a reference by members of the Internet Engineering Task Force, the group charged with creating and maintaining the standards for the Internet.

Stevens was also a familiar sight on the tutorial circuit, where he also exceptional. His teaching was crystal clear, he was always patient with any questioner, and he never talked down to anyone. He made network programming accessible, even possible, to learn. Stevens was always there to lend support, to offer a bit of wisdom, and to be the person that cared when no one else did. His presence will be missed greatly.

1999: The X Window System Community at Large

The X Window System Community at Large received USENIX's 1999 Lifetime Achievement Award which recognizes and celebrates singular contributions to the UNIX community in both intellectual achievement and unparalleled service. The citation says: "Presented in honor of a profound intellectual achievement and a unparalleled service to our Community." The following individuals are recognized as the Principal Recipients and Keepers of the Flame: Bob Scheifler, Jim Gettys, Phil Karlton, Ralph Swick, Keith Packard and Smokey Wallace.

1998: Tim Berners-Lee

Tim Berners-Lee Awarded for "spinning the Web that has helped to transform the Internet into a fundamental part of everyday life and for his continued evangelism on its behalf," as inscribed on the original glass sculpture. Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1990 while at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. He wrote the first WWW client and the first WWW server, along with communications software defining URLs, HTTP and HTML.

1997: Brian. W. Kernighan

Brian W. Kernighan received USENIX's 1997 Lifetime Achievement Award. He is honored for "books that educated us all, for tools we still use, and for insights in the use of language as a bridge between people and machines," the words inscribed on his "Flame" trophy.

1996: The Software Tools Project

Almost two decades ago, three computer scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory popularized a suite of software tools that many computing professionals considered revolutionary and maybe even subversive. On January 24, 1996, their work was recognized with Lifetime Achievement Awards by one of their profession's most prestigious associations.

Dennis Hall (Berkeley, CA),Deborah Scherrer (Castro Valley, CA) and Joseph Sventek (Oakland, CA) were presented with Lifetime Achievement Awards.

1995: The Creation of USENET

At the USENIX Technical Conference in New Orleans, the third Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Tom Truscott, Steve Bellovin, and Jim Ellis for their work in creating USENET, announced exactly 15 years previously at the USENIX Conference in Boulder, Colorado. The award also honors the thousands of participants and supporters who have contributed to USENET over the years, and who are far too numerous to name.

1994: Networking Technologies

In 1994, the award was given to Michael Lesk for inventing UUCP, and Van Jacobsen for his work on making TCP "Industrial Strength."

1993: Berkeley UNIX

The award was first presented in 1993 to The Computer Systems Research Group, honoring 180 individuals for their contribution to the CSRG effort.