Bradford Parkinson

Bradford Parkinson
Born (1935-02-16) February 16, 1935 (age 89)
Madison, Wisconsin
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUnited States Naval Academy
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Stanford University
Known forGlobal positioning system
AwardsMagellanic Premium (1997)
Draper Prize
National Inventors Hall of Fame
Marconi Prize (2016)
Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering (2019)
Scientific career
FieldsAeronautics
InstitutionsUnited States Air Force
Stanford University
Doctoral studentsPenina Axelrad

Bradford Parkinson (born February 16, 1935) is an American engineer and inventor, retired United States Air Force Colonel and Emeritus Professor at Stanford University. He is best known as the lead architect, advocate and developer, with early contributions from Ivan Getting and Roger Easton, of the Air Force NAVSTAR program, better known as Global Positioning System.[1][2][3][4][5]

He was also the co-principal investigator (co-PI) and program manager on Gravity Probe B, which tested gravitomagnetism and was the first direct mechanical test of Einstein’s General Relativity.[1]

He has received numerous awards and honors for GPS and contributions to engineering and invention, including the Charles Stark Draper Prize, National Inventors Hall of Fame, and IEEE Medal of Honor, among others.[2][6][7][8] In 2019, Bradford Parkinson shared the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering with three other GPS pioneers (James Spilker, Hugo Freuhauf, and Richard Schwartz).[9]

  1. ^ a b "MIT Aero-Astro Magazine - Parkinson". web.mit.edu. Retrieved 2018-08-24.
  2. ^ a b "'Father of GPS' Brad Parkinson: IEEE Medal of Honor 2018". IEEE.tv. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 2018-08-24.
  3. ^ "Oral-History:Brad Parkinson - Engineering and Technology History Wiki". ethw.org. Retrieved 2018-08-24.
  4. ^ "Bradford Parkinson SM '61 | MIT Alumni Association's Infinite Connect…". archive.is. 2012-12-11. Archived from the original on 2012-12-11. Retrieved 2018-08-24.
  5. ^ "Bradford Parkinson Biography". articles.gpsfaq.com. Retrieved 2018-08-24.
  6. ^ "Inductee Detail | National Inventors Hall of Fame". National Inventors Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2018-08-24. Retrieved 2018-08-24.
  7. ^ Carey, Bjorn (16 May 2016). "Stanford engineer Bradford Parkinson, the 'Father of GPS,' wins prestigious Marconi Prize". Stanford University. Archived from the original on 22 April 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  8. ^ "Recipients of the Charles Stark Draper Prize for Engineering". NAE Website. Retrieved 2018-08-24.
  9. ^ "2019 QEPrize Winners". 12 February 2019.