Jarkko Oikarinen, known on IRC as WiZ, was the developer of the first Internet chat network, called IRC, short for Internet Relay Chat. He wrote the first server and client in August 1988, while working at the University of Oulu. It was first written to replace a program called MUT (MultiUser Talk) on a BBS called OuluBox in Finland. Jarkko Oikarinen found inspiration in Bitnet Relay Chat which operated on the Bitnet network.

Oikarinen received his Ph.D. from Oulu University in 1999. He has done research primarily in the fields of computer graphics and medical imaging; particularly volume rendering, computed axial tomography, and telemedicine.

External links

• The homepage of Jarkko Oikarinen: http://www.kumpu.org
• IRC History by Jarkko Oikarinen