The Institute has been awarded the Mellon Award for Technology Collaboration for developing, implementing and supporting Kerberos, the widely employed network authentication system. The award, which carries with it $100,000 in prize money, is given in two levels; the higher one that MIT received is in recognition for distinction over an extended period of time.
Kerberos was developed as a part of Project Athena by Professor Steven Lerman and former CSAIL Principal Investigator Jerry Saltzer. From there, the system spread due in no small part to MIT’s dedication to support for other groups who were using or planning to use the system. The Mellon Award is presented through the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. To read more about the award, please click here.