Internet pioneer, acoustics genius, and academic Leo Beranek, who became fascinated with radio and electronics as a youngster and held an Amateur Radio license in the 1930s, died on October 10. He was 102.

Beranek was instrumental in the birth of Arpanet — the precursor to the Internet. He was the former president of Bolt, Beranek and Newman (now BBN Technologies) and authored the classic textbook, Acoustics, updated in 2012. His firm designed the acoustics for UN Headquarters as well as for the Lincoln Center and Tanglewood concert venues.

An Iowa native, Beranek graduated with a PhD from Harvard, where he taught and ran the electro-acoustics lab. After earlier being forced to drop out of college, Beranek took a job with the then-fledgling Collins Radio Company, in order to earn money to pay his tuition and return to school. While in college, he became acquainted with Amateur Radio, learned the Morse code, and got a license. His call sign is lost to obscurity.

Beranek also was a founder of Boston TV station WCVB.

Among other honors, he held the National Medal of Science.