The internet was created through contributions from many individuals, though some key figures include Leonard Kleinrock, whose 1961 paper initially proposed the concept, and J.C.R. Licklider who envisioned a "galactic network" as director of the IPTO in 1962. The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) developed in 1966 was the first wide area network linking universities and research centers using packet switching, and marked the beginning of what we now know as the internet. Key early developments included the first email sent by Ray Tomlinson in 1972 using the @ symbol and the establishment of TCP/IP protocols in 1983 which became the standard for internet communication.