Event 5 - Leonard Kleinrock Internet Heritage Site

          On June 7, I decided to visit the Leonard Kleinrock Internet Heritage Site located in 3420 Boelter Hall. My quick walk to the third floor of Boelter ended up being a really rewarding educational experience. While today we often take the Internet for granted at times, the year 1969 would become a crucial date in history, changing the way we communicate forever. After doing more research on the history of the Internet, I was amazed to find out that a group of computer scientists working right here from UCLA would for the first time establish a connection between two computers more than 350 miles apart and send the first two letters of the word "login" electronically to a Stanford Research Institute computer before the system would end up crashing (Hines).

800-pound IMP situated on the right-hand side that 
was used to send letters "l" and "o" before crashing.

(photo © by Mariana Mkrttchyan)

         Despite that the Interface Message Processor crashed after it transmitted the first two letters of the message, this event would soon make the idea of ARPANET (what we know of as today as the Internet) a reality. In particular, ARPANET was a project that was funded by the U.S. military at a time when America did not hold a monopoly over nuclear weapons anymore and that any war with the Soviet Union would be nuclear; hence the aim was to develop a technology that would allow the U.S. military to have command and control over their computers remotely in case of a potential attack (Hines).

Inside Boelter Hall 3420.
(photo © by Mariana Mkrttchyan)

          Ultimately, what took place on the UCLA campus back in 1969 would end up being a catalyst for an era of accelerated technological progress. What intrigued me the most was how these computer scientists made what once seemed impossible possible. Over the years we have seen many advances in technology, whether that's in the field of medicine or even in artificial intelligence. From biotechnology, nanotechnology, and space, technology has a significant impact on our daily lives. More and more artists have also been heavily influenced by these advances and have been integrating technology into their own work. It is very fascinating to learn that a technological revolution culminated out of the birth of the Internet and how I will be graduating from a institution that was a part of this event. I would highly recommend you visit the Leonard Kleinrock Internet Heritage Site, as you have the opportunity to see the birthplace of the Internet with your own eyes. 

Me in front of Boelter 3420.

(photo © by Mariana Mkrttchyan) 

Sources:
Hines, Nickolaus. "How the Internet Was Born." ATI, September 2, 2016. https://allthatsinteresting.com/internet-history.