T. Postel has had the unusual privilege to watch the internet unfold at close range, sharing the experiences of his late brother Jon, one of its chief architects. Mr. Postel received his degree in mathematics from UCLA in 1975.

As chief electronic engineer at Mort Electronics, he designed high-powered audio amplifiers and audio-computer interface hardware. He also became involved in the internet by working with his brother. With experience in TCP/IP and the inner workings of sendmail and SMTP, he helped found E-Now Electronic Mail Systems. Since then, he has been on the front lines of the dot-com revolution.

Postel has been a member of the IEEE for 12 years, and holds a Type I technicians certificate issued by the PHCC.

  Martha Benedict saw the first node of the Arpanet at UCLA in 1973. Despite this epiphany, she graduated summa cum laude as an English major, minoring in classics and linguistics. She has a Phi Beta Kappa key too.

After a stint in graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, Ms. Benedict plunged into a variety of editorial and graphics endeavors. She worked in advertising, served as editor and chief writer of a local weekly, and co-founded a graphics firm. Clients included the Los Angeles Times, Clifford Electronics, Skechers, ad agencies and corporations.

After a foray in story analysis for the Sundance Institute, Ms. Benedict jumped into the internet full time. She teamed up with Mr. Postel in 1998.