Architect of the TCP/Internet protocol, Le Lann has been active in the field of computing since 1967, when he completed his national duties with the French Navy as a contributor to the development of real-time multiprocessors for submarines. Le Lann holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics, an Engineer Degree from ENSEEIHT, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science.
In 1969, he joined CERN (the European Research Center for Nuclear Physics, Switzerland), the Cyclades Project (French Ministry of Industry), inspired from the US Arpanet Project, and Stanford University, where he worked with Professor Vint Cerf as an architect of the TCP/Internet protocol. In 1977, Le Lann published one of the pioneering papers on distributed computing. In 1978 he joined IRIA (Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et Automatique) (now INRIA) in Rocquencourt, France, as Research Director.
There, he launched four INRIA projects, funded by INRIA as well as by various French, European, and US agencies and companies. His main areas of research were algorithmic issues in distributed fault-tolerant real-time computing and proof-based system engineering for computer-based systems, safety-critical communications in mobile radio cyber-physical systems for intelligent vehicular networks, and cyber-energy transitions. On these topics, Le Lann published in the order of 60 papers or book chapters, and managed more than 35 contracts.
Besides conducting research work, he has been active in technology transfer and has regularly been invited to give seminars and to act as a consultant for various international agencies and companies. In 2012, he received the Willis Lamb Award from the French Academy of Sciences, notably for his work concerning national defense. Le Lann has also served as an international consultant, conducting audits and supervising over 50 contracts for US, European, and French companies and organizations.
