Honorary degree recipients also include George Bugliarello, Donald Keck, and Charles Thornton.

Troy, N.Y. – Internet pioneer Robert "Bob" Metcalfe will speak at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's 198th Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 15, at 9:30 a.m. at the Harkness Field.

Currently general partner in the venture capital firm Polaris Venture Partners, Metcalfe invented Ethernet networking in 1973 while working at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. Metcalfe founded 3Com Corporation (1979), the billion-dollar networking company in which he served as chairman, CEO, division general manager, and vice president of engineering, marketing, and sales.

A noted columnist and commentator, he created Metcalfe's Law, which states that the value of a network grows as the square of the number of its users. Metcalfe has written for American Spectator, Forbes, Technology Review, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired Magazine. A sought-after speaker, he has appeared on radio and television and hosted his own weekly Web cast.

Rensselaer will confer an honorary degree on Robert Metcalfe as well as George Bugliarello, Donald Keck, and Charles Thornton.

George Bugliarello
Engineer and educator George Bugliarello is president emeritus (1973-1994) and former chancellor (1994-2003) of Polytechnic University. Honored for his contributions in biomedical engineering and science policy, Bugliarello is now serving a four-year term as foreign secretary of the National Academy of Engineering, of which he has been a member since 1987.

Donald Keck
In 1970 Donald Keck was a member of the Corning glass research team that developed the optical fiber that led to the telecommunications revolution. Working with Robert Maurer and Peter Schultz, the team developed an optical fiber capable of carrying 65,000 times more information than conventional copper wire. Keck is currently chief technology officer of Infotonics.

Charles Thornton
Structural engineer Charles Thornton is chair of the Thornton-Tomasetti Group Inc.. His firm built the 95-story Petronas Twin Towers of Kuala Lumpur City Center in Malaysia, the tallest skyscraper in the world, as well as a number of other noted structures such as Chicago Stadium, Comiskey Park, and the 50-story Americas Tower in New York.

Contact: Theresa Bourgeois
Phone: (518) 276-2840
E-mail: bourgt@rpi.edu