GPS Inventors Share Draper Prize
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Brad Parkinson (center) in the early 1970s with Frank Butterfield of The Aerospace Corporation (left) and Cdr. Bill Huston of the Navy (right) in discussions about GPS. A model of a phase-one GPS satellite is on the table between Parkinson and Huston.
Dr. Getting (left) with astronaut Alan Shephard, 1962. |
WASHINGTON, D.C. (2/18/03) -- Dr. Ivan A. Getting, president emeritus of The Aerospace Corportion, and Dr. Bradford W. Parkinson, board chair, are the recipients of the 2003 Charles Stark Draper Prize for technological achievement, it was announced today in Washington, D.C.
They were recognized for inventing the Global Positioning System.
The Draper Prize, one of engineering's top honors, carries a $500,000 award, which they will share. They also received gold medals at a ceremony sponsored by the award's administrator, the National Academy of Engineering.
"GPS is an achievement that deservedly joins the ranks of previous Draper Prize honors, such as the semiconductor microchip, the jet engine, satellite technology, fiber optics, and the Internet," said Dr. William A. Wulf, president of the academy.
Getting, president of The Aerospace Corporation from 1960 through 1977, was cited for envisioning a system that would use satellite transmitters to pinpoint with extreme accuracy locations anywhere on Earth, then becoming a tireless advocate for making sure the complex system was built after it was shown it would work.
Parkinson was Department of Defense program director for the original definition of the GPS system architecture, as well as for its engineering, development, demonstration, and implementation. He continues to work on GPS at Stanford University, honing its accuracy and adaptability to helicopters, farm tractors, spacecraft, and other implements.
