Name: Michael John Muuss

Born: October 16, 1958, in Iowa City, Iowa, USA

Death: November 20, 2000 (Age: 42)

  • Author of the freeware network tool ping, which was implemented on many operating systems, initially BSD Unix, and later Microsoft Windows and macOS.
  • Senior scientist specializing in geometric solid modeling, ray tracing, MIMD architectures and digital computer networks. Worked at the United States Army Research Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
  • Wrote many software packages (including BRL-CAD) and network tools (including ttcp and the concept of the default route or “Default Gateway”) and contributed to others including BIND.
  • Muuss is mentioned in two books, The Cuckoo’s Egg and Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, for his role in tracking down crackers.

Honors and awards

  • USENIX Association Lifetime Achievement Award (Flame) (1993).

Websites

  • Michael Muuss personal website