Edson Hendricks

Edson C. Hendricks (May 22, 1945 - August 29, 2020) was an American computer scientist who worked at IBM, where he developed RSCS (later known as VNET), a fundamental software that powered the world’s largest network (or network of networks) prior to the Internet. RSCS directly influenced both Internet development and user acceptance of networking between independently managed organizations. Within IBM, the resulting network later became known as VNET and grew to 4000 nodes. In the academic community, VNET formed the base for BITNET, which extended to 500 organizations and 3,000 nodes. VNET was also the networking design underpinning EARN in Europe, and NETNORTH in Canada.