The Millennium Technology Prize - www.epiteszforum.hu

the millennium prize 9
The Inaugural Prize Winner
“The original idea of the Web was that it should be a collaborative
space where by writing something together, and as people worked
on it, they could iron out misunderstanding.” Tim Berners-Lee
The inaugural Millennium Technology Prize was
awarded to Tim Berners-Lee, who revolutionized electronic communication
by inventing the World Wide Web.
”The Web has significantly enhanced many people’s ability to
obtain information central to their lives,” says Professor Pekka
Tarjanne, chairman of the international Selection Committee.
“The Web is encouraging new types of social networks, supporting
transparency and democracy, and opening up novel avenues
for information management and business development.”
Free for All
Tim Berners-Lee was born in Britain in 1955 and earned a
physics degree from Oxford University. He developed the Web
while working at CERN, world’s largest particle physics laboratory
in Geneva, Switzerland. The Web was first made available
to the public in 1991.
The invention of the Web involved several interdependent
innovations. The first server, browser/editor, HTTP protocol,
HTML language and URL address together allow Web users to
store, access and read information with one piece of software
– the browser.
Berners-Lee gave the Web to the world to use for free. “The
decision to make the Web an open system was necessary for it
to be universal”, he says. “Had the technology been proprietary
it would probably not have taken off. You can’t propose that
something be a universal space and at the same time keep control
of it.”
Work Continues
Tim Berners-Lee has continued the work to render the Web
increasingly accessible and efficient. He leads the World Wide
Web Consortium (W3C) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT). Currently he focuses on the development of a
Semantic Web which would represent a quantum leap in information
processing.
President Tarja Halonen presented the prize to Tim Berners-Lee