Anthony S. Abbott

For his significant lifetime contributions to the art and science of navigation and his leadership and technical innovations in the development of GPS user equipment and integrated systems.

Anthony S. Abbott is a principal engineer in the navigation division of The Aerospace Corporation, supporting the GPS Joint Program Office in advanced antijam technology research and development as well as advanced user equipment architecture. Throughout his four-decade career, Mr. Abbott has been at the cutting edge of advanced navigation technology to improve capability, accuracy and robustness. His contributions began in the 60’s supporting the GN&C of the Apollo Program at North American Aviation. Mr. Abbott had the honor of training several of the original Apollo astronauts in on-orbit navigation operations.

Later at The Aerospace Corporation, among many contributions on several classified space programs, he was a contributor to the original System 621B, which later became GPS.

With his belief in the future of satellite navigation, he then accepted a position at Magnavox to run the navigation systems engineering organization for the Phase I GPS program. In this capacity, Mr. Abbott was in charge of all analytical aspects of the requirements, design, integration, laboratory and field test as well as the post test analysis of the GPS Phase I user equipment and other integrated navigation systems.

In the early 80’s, Mr. Abbott joined Northrop where he made major contributions to the gravity compensation theory and implementation on the B-2 to achieve levels of inertial navigation accuracy that were previously unobtainable. Mr. Abbott also was the chief analyst for the B-2 Stellar-Inertial navigation subsystem, including the integration of GPS as a navigation aid and the total systems design of the B-2 GPS Aided Targeting System that was successfully used in several conflicts.

More recently, he rejoined Aerospace and among many other pursuits, has been one of the primary advocates of a new philosophy to integrate raw GPS measurements with raw IMU measurements to produce a blended solution with many advantages, among which is improved antijam performance. He has a patent for one approach to what he has called Ultra-Tight GPS / IMU Coupling.

Mr. Abbott has a BSEE from California Berkeley and an MSEE from USC in system science. He also holds five U.S. patents and one international patent, with two patents pending. In 1997 he was a co-recipient of the Engineers’ Council Merit Award for his contributions to the B-2 GATS/GAM program.

Dr. James L. Farrell

For his sustained contributions to inertial navigation technology, GPS integrity, and integrated navigation systems.

Dr. James L. Farrell’s technical experience includes teaching appointments at Marquette and UCLA, two years each at Honeywell Minneapolis and Bendix-Pacific, and 31 years at Westinghouse in design, simulation, and validation/test for modern estimation algorithms in navigation and tracking applications and digital communications system design.

He is currently president and technical director of VIGIL, Inc. in Severna Park, MD. His primary contributions are in the areas of inertial navigation technology, Global Positioning System integrity and integrated navigation systems, including extensive error propagation analyses, Synthetic Aperture Radar motion compensation and transfer alignment algorithms.

He is author of the book, Integrated Aircraft Navigation (Academic Press, 1976) and has written over 75 journal and conference manuscripts, many of which appear in ION publications.

He served as co-chair of Working Group 5 on GPS Fault Detection and Exclusion (Special Committee 159, RTCA, Inc.). He also has continued his teaching on university campuses as well as in both industry and conference seminars.

Dr. Farrell holds a M.S. degree from UCLA (1961) and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Maryland (1967) and is a registered professional engineer in Maryland.

Larry D. Hothem

For sustained contributions to the development and application of geodesy and surveying techniques and professional leadership at the national and international level.

Larry D. Hothem has 40 years of practical and developmental experience in geopositioning technologies, including over 20 years of involvement in applications of the Global Positioning System (GPS). As a senior physical scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Department of Interior (DOI), Reston, VA, he leads and advises in implementing GNSS and integrated measurement technologies that meet geopositioning needs of the USGS earth-science programs, including the science research program in Antarctica.

Mr. Hothem’s current applied research interests and work activities are in the integration of GNSS and inertial measuring units for accurate positioning and orientation of airborne platforms while operating sensors that include digital cameras and laser scanning instrumentation.

Other professional activities include serving as: USGS/ DOI technical representative at senior-level meetings concerned with developing policies affecting the future for GPS; expert and advisor on teams developing and revising standards for geospatial information by the American National Standards Institute and the International Standards Organization; and USGS principal representative to the Federal Geodetic Control Subcommittee of the Federal Geographic Data Committee. He recently participated as the DOI technical representative on the working group that prepared the new policy for GPS – the 2004 U.S. Space-based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Policy.

Mr. Hothem is active in many national and international professional organizations. As an active member of the ION since 1986, Mr. Hothem served on the Council as Land Technical Representative 1990-’92 and 1995-’97, Treasurer 1997-’02, Executive Vice-President 2002-’03, and President 2003-’04. He served as session chair at numerous ION meetings, as program chair for ION GPS 2000, and as general chair of ION GPS 2001. In 1996, he received the ASCE Surveying and Mapping Award. Other professional achievements include: a four-year term (1994-98) as chair, Commission 5, Positioning and Measurement, FIG; a 2-year term (1996-98) as a member of the Geomatics Engineering Advisory Committee, University of Calgary; and as a member of the editorial advisory board since the founding of the trade magazine “GPS World.”

Mr. Hothem has a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering, University of Cincinnati; a Diploma in Electronic Engineering Technology, Capital Radio Engineering Institute; and completed graduate courses in geodetic science at George Washington University.

Joseph N. Portney

For his leadership and sustained contributions to the development of inertial navigation systems.

Joseph N. Portney is currently president of Navsense, a navigation consulting company. He retired from Litton Guidance and Control Systems (now Northrop Grumman) in 1998 as a manager of advanced programs and was earlier in engineering management.

His career spanned stellar inertial Doppler navigation development to GPS embedded ring laser inertial navigation systems. He led teams responsible for the design and installation of the inertial navigation systems for Air Force One and C-130A Gunships. He flew as navigator engineer on three historical inertial navigation crossings of the North Pole.

He has inventions/disclosures for a wide latitude solar compass, airborne automatic compass error compensation, stellar tracker jamming and helped conceive the recently introduced airborne hijack prevention system.

He has written numerous papers on navigation and is the author of “Portney’s Ponderables,” a collection of 25 historical navigational controversies and paradoxes. He created Earthshapes 12, hypothetical earths used in classrooms throughout the world.

He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a B.S. in engineering in 1952 serving as a navigator in the U.S. Air Force until 1960 when he joined Litton.

He has received The ION Weems Award, was president of The ION from 1989-1990 and a trustee of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Society.

BGen. (ret’d.) Keith R. Greenaway

For his authority and extensive experience with arctic air navigation, his years of study and research in the subject, and his ever-ready willingness and ability to teach others.

Keith R. Greenaway has been associated with the north in various capacities for over half a century, an air navigator with the Canadian Forces for over three decades, and subsequently senior science advisor with the Department of Northern Development. He has been a member of the Institute of Navigation since 1948, and served on the Council in the 1960’s.

In the 1940’s, while a member of a joint U.S.-Canada unit testing a navigation aid for high latitudes, he was involved in studying directional gyroscope-chart relationships in latitudes of extreme meridional convergency and where the proximity of the Magnetic Pole precluded using the magnetic compass for maintaining the desired direction. This culminated in development of the “earth convergency grid” first used commercially by Scandinavian Airlines System on their high latitude flights. On one of many arctic flights, BGen. Greenaway discovered and photographed Ice Island T3, which was later occupied by scientific parties; later he noted and reported that Borden Island was actually two islands. In May 1946, one flight crossed the North Geographic Pole establishing a first for a U.S. military aircraft.

He co-authored “An Aerial Reconnaissance of Arctic North America” in 1948, using reconnaissance material gathered in previous years. His contribution to the science of polar navigation resulted in his receiving the ION Thurlow Award in 1951.

During a six-year secondment with the Arctic Section of the Defence Research Board, BGen. Greenaway worked on matters related to northern Canada and its environs. At the request of the RCAF he prepared a text on “Arctic Air Navigation,” which was published in 1951 and widely used. In 1956 he co-authored “Arctic Canada from the Air,” the first detailed geographic text of the Canadian arctic. His secondment was followed by duty with the USAF Strategic Air Command assisting in navigating polar routes. In 1958, at the invitation of the U.S. Navy, he joined the crew of a ZPG-2 airship in navigating to Ice Island T-3...the last LTA craft to visit the polar regions.

In 1959 BGen. Greenaway was appointed commander of the RCAF Central Navigation School, a postgraduate facility where he pioneered the current aerospace systems course.

On retirement from the Canadian Forces in 1971, BGen. Greenaway was commissioned by a federal interdepartmental committee on northern development to draft guidelines and priorities for northern research. Subsequently, he was named senior science advisor to the Department of Northern Development where he continued his interests in northern research and development.

In recognition of BGen. Greenaway’s contributions, books and numerous other publications, he has received many honors and awards including the Order of Canada and two honorary doctoral degrees.