Paul Baran ’49, Hon ’97, a founding father of the Internet, was awarded a 2007 National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President Bush in the East Room of the White House on September 29. The award honors America’s leading innovators and is presented to individuals, teams and companies for their contributions to the nation’s economic, environmental and social well-being. A native of Poland, Baran is credited with helping to develop packet-switching technology in 1962. Packet-switching laid the foundation for the development of the Internet. Baran also helped develop a packet voice technology that led to the development of the first commercial ATM product and discrete multi-tone modem technology, used in DSL modems and doorway metal detectors.