08/24/2026
Throughout September, the Brightwaters Historical Society will present our Notable Brightwaters Residents Exhibit at the Bay Shore–Brightwaters Public Library.
A continuation of our 2025 exhibit, this year’s display will feature new residents and new stories from Brightwaters’ past.
Leading up to the exhibit, we’ll be sharing a few of those fascinating stories—starting with Robert “Bob” Metcalfe, a Brightwaters resident who went on to help change the way the world communicates.
Robert “Bob” Metcalfe is an American engineer and technology pioneer best known for the development of Ethernet, the technology that made it possible for computers to communicate efficiently over local networks.
Born in Brooklyn in 1946, Metcalfe spent much of his childhood on Long Island. In a Marconi Foundation 30th Anniversary Commemoration interview, Metcalfe recalled that his family moved from Brooklyn to Levittown and then to the Bay Shore area of Long Island, where he attended school from kindergarten through 12th grade. His family eventually settled on Hiawatha Drive in Brightwaters, and he graduated from Bay Shore High School in 1964.
Metcalfe’s interest in science and engineering began at an early age, encouraged by his father, who worked with electronics and gyroscopic technology, and by his eighth-grade science teacher at Bay Shore, Lester Gosier. In a USPTO Journeys of Innovation interview with Bob Metcalfe, he shared a memorable story about Gosier’s influence. When Metcalfe was inducted into the Bay Shore High School Hall of Fame, he used his acceptance remarks to thank his former eighth-grade science teacher for helping spark his interest in building things, science, and engineering. When he finished speaking, the audience turned toward the back of the room, where Metcalfe discovered that Mr. Gosier was there. Decades after being his student, Metcalfe finally had the opportunity to thank the teacher who had helped inspire his future career. He went on to study at MIT and Harvard University, eventually earning a doctorate in computer science.
In 1973, while working at Xerox PARC, Metcalfe helped develop Ethernet, which became one of the foundations of modern computer networking. He later founded 3Com Corporation and spent decades advancing technology, entrepreneurship, and education.
For his contributions to computing, Metcalfe has received some of the field’s highest honors, including the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and the ACM A.M. Turing Award.
From his childhood in Brightwaters and the halls of Bay Shore High School to becoming one of the pioneers of modern computer networking, Bob Metcalfe’s story has a remarkable connection to our local community.
Hear Bob Metcalfe tell the story himself: Watch this video to hear Bob discuss the invention of Ethernet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_OxypYGT_8
Photo in post photographed by Kim Kulish published i***n 13 2017 CNBC article
