Dr. Dennis M. Jennings

Dr. Dennis M. Jennings is an Irish physicist, IT Director, Pioneer in the Internet Society’s (ISOC) Internet Hall of Fame, and an early stage investor. In 1985–1986, he was responsible for the decisions that shaped the development of the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET), the network that became the US National Research and Education Network, and that evolved into the Internet.
Dr. Jennings was the director of Computing Services at University College Dublin;the first Program Director for Networking at the US National Science Foundation; interim President of the Consortium for Scientific Computing at the John von Neumann Supercomputer Centre in Princeton; Vice Chairman of the Board of ICANN, Chairman of the Oversight Board of the Irish Centre for High-End Computing; and Founder of 4th Level Ventures, a small venture capital company.
Dr Jennings is currently the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Royal Irish Academy of Music; a member of the Irish Government’s Open Data Governance Board; Co-Chair of the Irish GDPR Coalition; and non-executive chairman or board member of a small number of technology companies.
Dr Jennings is a supporter of Digital Rights Ireland and is interested in privacy and data protection and the evolution of law and regulation in an Internet based global society. He worries about the insanity of the headlong rush to implement the (so‑called) Internet of Things.