ION Announces 2015 Award Winners, Fellows

The Institute of Navigation (ION) presented its Annual Awards during the ION International Technical Meeting in Dana Point, Calif., Jan. 26-28. The annual awards recognize individuals making significant contributions or demonstrating outstanding performance relating to the art and science of navigation. ION also announced its elected Fellow members.

Award Winners

• Mathieu Joerger received the Early Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to the integrity of multi-constellation and multi-sensor navigation systems. The award is presented in recognition of outstanding contributions made early in one’s career.
• Captain Samantha Ekwall received the Superior Achievement Award for her heroic actions as the lead navigator for a five-ship formation during the refueling of the battle damaged CV-22 Ospreys during a U.S. embassy evacuation attempt in South Sudan. The Superior Achievement Award is presented to an individual demonstrating outstanding accomplishments as a practicing navigator.
• Hamid Mokhtarzadeh and Demoz Gebre-Egziabher received the Dr. Samuel M. Burka Award for their paper “Cooperative Inertial Navigation” published in the Summer 2014 issue of NAVIGATION: Journal of the Institute of Navigation, Vol. 61, No. 2,pp.77-94. The award recognizes outstanding achievement in the preparation of a paper contributing to the advancement of the art and science of positioning, navigation and timing.
• Patricia Doherty received the Captain P. V. H. Weems Award for her contributions to the management and encouragement of advanced navigation research and for her service to ION. The award is presented to individuals for continuing contributions to the art and science of navigation.
• Bruce Haines received the Tycho Brahe Award for notable achievements in astrodynamics-navigation, precise orbit determination and satellite applications to geophysics and oceanography. The Tycho Brahe Award is presented to recognize outstanding contributions to the science of space navigation, guidance and control.
• Neeraj Pujara received the Norman P. Hays Award for his inspired leadership, outstanding encouragement, inspiration and dedicated support contributing to the advancement of navigation. The award is given in recognition of outstanding encouragement, inspiration and support contributing to the advancement of navigation.
• Todd Humphreys received the Thomas L. Thurlow Award for contributions that enhance radionavigation security and robustness in the face of intentional spoofing and natural interference. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the science of navigation. Humphreys has written several articles for GPS World, the latest being the February cover story, “Accuracy in the Palm of Your Hand.”
• Patricia Doherty received the Distinguished Service Award, presented for extraordinary service to ION.

ION’s new Fellows: (from left) Attila Komjathy, Yu (Jade) Morton, and Frank van Digglen.

Fellows

ION also announced recipients of 2015 Fellow memberships. Election to Fellow membership recognizes the distinguished contributions of ION members to the advancement of the technology, management, practice and teaching the arts and science of navigation; and/or lifetime contributions to ION.

• Attila Komjathy has been elected for contributions to remote sensing of Earth’s ionosphere using GNSS signals.
• Yu (Jade) Morton has been elected for contributions to GNSS software receivers and the development of a worldwide network of space weather monitoring stations.
• Frank van Digglen has been elected for contributions to satellite-based navigation for consumer applications, especially mobile handheld devices. van Diggelen joined the GPS World Advisory Board in 2014.