Cloudwalkers cast highlight: Deborah Estrin

In 1972, following the release of the Pentagon Papers, a small institute in Los Angeles was given the power to design, develop and run the Internet. What followed was one of the greatest explosions of information in human history.

by Magali Gruet

April 10, 2025

Cast highlight: this week, watch our interview with Deborah Estrin on Engineering the Future with Sensor Networks

Cloudwalkers is now on Amazon Prime Video.

When Deborah Estrin joined USC’s Information Sciences Institute (ISI) in the mid-80s, she immediately made waves with the Internet Engineering Taskforce, shaping the nascent internet. Coming from a family of scientific innovators, she pioneered sensor networks, revolutionizing mobile health, environmental monitoring, and marine biology.

Her pathbreaking research and leadership at USC, UCLA, and Cornell Tech have consistently advanced technology’s potential to solve global challenges, making her one of the most cited computer scientists of all time. Estrin reflects on the internet’s early development and how its evolution not only connected people but also eventually enabled the integration of numerous data-collecting devices, creating a world rich in data-driven insights.

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