Radia Perlman

American software designer and network engineer (born 1951)
Person human Q7558
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Radia Perlman

Summary

Radia Perlman is a human[1]. She was born in Portsmouth[2]. She was born on +1951-12-18T00:00:00Z[3]. She worked as a computer scientist[4], telecommunications engineer[5], mathematician[6], and software developer[7]. She ranks in the top 0.71% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (206 views/month, #7,127 of 1,000,298).[8]

Key Facts

  • Radia Perlman was born in Portsmouth[2].
  • Radia Perlman was born on +1951-12-18T00:00:00Z[3].
  • Radia Perlman held citizenship in United States[9].
  • Radia Perlman's professions included computer scientist[4].
  • Radia Perlman worked as a telecommunications engineer[5].
  • Radia Perlman's professions included mathematician[6].
  • Radia Perlman worked as a software developer[7].
  • Radia Perlman's field of work was computer science[10].
  • Radia Perlman's field of work was software engineering[11].
  • Radia Perlman's field of work was network security[12].
  • Radia Perlman was employed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology[13].
  • Radia Perlman was employed by BBN Technologies[14].
  • Among Radia Perlman's employers was Sun Microsystems[15].
  • Among Radia Perlman's employers was Dell EMC[16].
  • Radia Perlman was educated at Massachusetts Institute of Technology[17].
  • Radia Perlman's doctoral advisor was David D. Clark[18].
  • A notable work attributed to Radia Perlman is Spanning Tree Protocol[19].
  • A notable work attributed to Radia Perlman is computer literacy[20].
  • Radia Perlman received the Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Awards[21].
  • Radia Perlman received the SIGCOMM Award[22].
  • Radia Perlman received the National Inventors Hall of Fame[23].
  • Radia Perlman received the Internet Hall of Fame[24].
  • Radia Perlman received the ACM Fellow[25].
  • Radia Perlman received the IEEE Eric E. Sumner Award[26].
  • Radia Perlman was a member of Association for Computing Machinery[27].

Body

Origins and Family

Radia Perlman's place of birth was Portsmouth[2]. She was born on +1951-12-18T00:00:00Z[3].

Education

Radia Perlman was educated at Massachusetts Institute of Technology[17]. Her doctoral advisor was David D. Clark[18].

Career and Affiliations

Recorded occupations include computer scientist[4], telecommunications engineer[5], mathematician[6], and software developer[7]. Fields of work include computer science[10], an academic discipline[28]; software engineering[11], a branch of computer science[29]; and network security[12]. Employers include Massachusetts Institute of Technology[13], a university[30], in United States[31], founded in 1861[32], headquartered in Cambridge[33]; BBN Technologies[14], a business[34], founded in 1948[35], headquartered in Cambridge[36]; Sun Microsystems[15], a software company[37], in United States[38], founded in 1982[39], headquartered in Santa Clara[40]; and Dell EMC[16], a business[41], in United States[42], founded in 1979[43], headquartered in Hopkinton[44].

Works and Contributions

Notable works include Spanning Tree Protocol[19], a communication protocol[45] and computer literacy[20].

Recognition

Awards received include Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Awards[21], a science award[46], in United States[47], founded in 2005[48]; SIGCOMM Award[22], an award[49], in United States[50], founded in 1989[51]; National Inventors Hall of Fame[23], a hall of fame[52], in United States[53], founded in 1973[54], headquartered in North Canton[55]; Internet Hall of Fame[24], a hall of fame[56], in United States[57], founded in 2012[58]; ACM Fellow[25], a fellowship award[59]; and IEEE Eric E. Sumner Award[26], a technical field award[60], in United States[61], founded in 1997[62].

Why It Matters

Radia Perlman ranks in the top 0.71% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (206 views/month, #7,127 of 1,000,298).[8] She has Wikipedia articles in 20 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[63] She is known by 22 alternative names across languages and contexts.[64]

She is credited with the discovery of Spanning Tree Protocol[65], a communication protocol[66].

FAQs

Where was Radia Perlman born?

Radia Perlman's place of birth was Portsmouth[2].

What did Radia Perlman do for work?

Radia Perlman worked as computer scientist[4], telecommunications engineer[5], mathematician[6], and software developer[7].

Where did Radia Perlman go to school?

Radia Perlman was educated at Massachusetts Institute of Technology[17].

What awards did Radia Perlman receive?

Honors received include Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Awards[21], SIGCOMM Award[22], National Inventors Hall of Fame[23], and Internet Hall of Fame[24].

What did Radia Perlman discover?

Radia Perlman is credited as discoverer of Spanning Tree Protocol[65].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] . mitadmissions.org. mitadmissions.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  2. [9] . timesofindia.indiatimes.com. timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  3. [17] . wikidata.org.
  4. [10] . wikidata.org.
  5. [11] . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  6. [12] . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  7. [4] . timesofindia.indiatimes.com. timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  8. [5] . wikidata.org.
  9. [6] . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  10. [7] . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  11. [13] . wikidata.org.
  12. [14] . wikidata.org.
  13. [15] . wikidata.org.
  14. [16] . wikidata.org.
  15. [21] . anitab.org. Retrieved . anitab.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  16. [22] . sigcomm.org. sigcomm.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  17. [23] . invent.org. invent.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  18. [24] . internethalloffame.org. internethalloffame.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  19. [25] . awards.acm.org. Retrieved . awards.acm.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  20. [26] . ieee.org. ieee.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  21. [18] . Mathematics Genealogy Project. Retrieved . genealogy.ams.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  22. [27] . acm.org. Retrieved . acm.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  23. [3] . SNAC. Retrieved . computerhope.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  24. [19] . wikidata.org.
  25. [20] . wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [65] . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [28] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [29] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [30] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [31] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [32] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [33] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [34] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  8. [35] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  9. [36] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  10. [37] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  11. [38] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  12. [39] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  13. [40] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  14. [41] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  15. [42] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  16. [43] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  17. [44] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  18. [46] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  19. [47] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  20. [48] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  21. [49] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  22. [50] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  23. [51] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  24. [52] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  25. [53] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  26. [54] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  27. [55] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  28. [56] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  29. [57] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  30. [58] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  31. [59] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  32. [60] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  33. [61] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  34. [62] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  35. [45] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  36. [66] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Class ancestry

  1. [1] . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [8] . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [63] . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [64] . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Radia Perlman. Retrieved March 8, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/radia-perlman
MLA “Radia Perlman.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 8 Mar. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/radia-perlman.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_radia-perlman_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Radia Perlman}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/radia-perlman}, note = {Accessed: 2026-03-08}}
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