Jun Murai

Considered "the father of Japan's Internet," Murai is a Japanese computer scientist and professor at Keio University. He founded JUNET, a computer network established by three universities — Tokyo University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, and Keio University — in October 1984 for test and research purposes. It was made obsolete with the development and growing popularity of the WIDE Project, and was discontinued in October 1994.

He has served as President and General Chairperson of the WIDE Project, a Japanese Internet research consortium. He has also served as Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Advanced Studies, United Nations University; Instructor at Tokyo University of Art and Music; President of the Japan Network Information Center (JPNIC); Vice Chairperson of the Japanese chapter of the Internet Society; and Vice President of the Japanese Internet Association. Murai has been a member of the board of the Internet Society. He was appointed as one of ICANN's nine initial directors in October 1998, and served until 26 June 2003. He also served as chair of the Root Server System Advisory Committee.

On October 1, 2009, Murai became the Dean of the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies. Previously, he developed the Keio Science and Technology Network and the Japan University UNIX Network (JUNET), the first inter-university network operated in Japan, which connected more than 1,000 organizations at its peak. It employed UUCP dial-up technology and provided the first hierarchical domain name system in the world networks. He received the IPSJ (Information Processing Society Japan) research award for this work.

His research has centered on electronic observation, satellite Internet, multimedia Internet, and mobile and ubiquitous computing. Murai graduated with an M.Sc. degree in Computer Science in 1979 and received his Ph.D., also in Computer Science, in 1984 from Keio University, Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science and Technology.

He is the recipient of several awards: Okawa Publications Prize (1999); Jonathan B. Postel Service Award (2005); Funai Achievement Award (2007); and Okawa Prize (2011). Murai was also awarded the 2011 IEEE Internet Award "For his leadership in the development and deployment of the global Internet, especially across the Asia-Pacific region."