2008 Fellow Recipients

Mr. James T. Doherty

For extraordinary leadership, technical contributions and initiatives for the Loran and GPS navigation systems and excellence in his extensive service to The Institute of Navigation.

Mr. James T. Doherty Captain (retired) U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). Mr. Doherty has distinguished himself as an outstanding administrative leader and technical contributor to the art and science of navigation. His distinguished leadership and accomplishments have been manifested not only in his professional navigation organizations, but also in his on-going professional career with the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA). His leadership skills, technical expertise and exceptional self-discipline were well molded during his highly successful thirty-year career as an officer in the USCG.

Mr. Doherty earned a B.S. with Honors from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a registered Professional Electrical Engineer, and a Master of Administrative Science from Johns Hopkins University. He is also a graduate of the Naval War College. During Mr. Doherty’s lengthy Coast Guard career, he received multiple awards for service and dedication. His career included numerous national and international contributions to critical Loran operational transitions, modernizations and performance enhancements using GPS. In his role as a senior analyst for IDA, he has been a member of the GPS Independent Review Team and served as the executive director for the Enhanced Loran (eLoran) Independent Assessment Team for Under Secretary of Transportation and Deputy Under Secretary of Homeland Security. He was also a member of the Board of Directors for the International Loran Association.

Mr. Doherty’s unwavering dedication to The Institute of Navigation is evidenced by his many years of service in leadership roles. He has served as both program and general chairs for the ION’s National Technical Meeting, is a current member of Council, is a past chair of the Washington, D.C. Section, served as Eastern Region Vice President, as Executive Vice President, and finally as President from 2005-2007.

All who have had the privilege of knowing and working with him will attest to Mr. Doherty’s worthiness of the ION Fellow Award.

 

Dr. Mikel M. Miller

For technical leadership in alternative navigation technologies, significant navigation educational activities, and visionary leadership within The Institute of Navigation.

Dr. Mikel M. Miller Dr. Mikel Miller has over nineteen years of technical leadership in the navigation field, where he has demonstrated a record of sustained contributions in navigation technology, management, and teaching. Along the way, he has also made significant contributions to The Institute of Navigation. Starting in 1988, Dr. (then Captain, USAF) Miller was a program manager at the 6585th Test Group, Guidance Test Division (now the 746th Test Squadron--CIGTF). In 1990, he conducted some of the earliest-ever GPS anti-spoofing field testing, evaluating 12 different receivers from five vendors, and led the first sled test to verify the velocity accuracy of the RCVR-3A.

After receiving his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) in 1998, Dr. Miller stayed on as a faculty member until 2003 teaching over 15 guidance, navigation, and control courses. He has also taught 14 short courses to over 650 students in the past eight years. Following his time at AFIT, Dr. Miller joined the Sensors Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) as the technical director of the Reference Systems Branch. In 2008 he was promoted to technical director of the Advanced Guidance Division of the Munitions Directorate of AFRL.

Finally, Dr. Miller has been a true leader within The Institute of Navigation. He has published over 30 conference papers and journal articles, has served as program chair and general chair for ION conferences, is a past chair of the ION’s Dayton Section, and served as the ION’s Eastern Region Vice President, and is currently Executive Vice President. He was the driving force behind the ION Satellite Division-sponsored Robotic Lawnmower Competition. Dr. Miller was also a primary driver behind the ION undergraduate scholarship program. In addition to his ION activities, he also serves on the board of the Joint Services Data Exchange and has helped organize several military navigation conferences.

Dr. Miller’s record of sustained contributions to the arts and sciences of navigation, combined with his significant contributions to the Institute, make him a worthy candidate for the designation of ION Fellow.

 

Mr. Marvin B. May

For his many significant contributions in the fields of geophysical navigation, inertial navigation, and GPS that have significantly advanced military capabilities and his service to the community as an educator in the field of navigation.

Mr. Marvin B. May is recognized by the navigation community as an expert in geophysical navigation. His contributions date back to the earliest applications of gravity and bathymetry. In addition to gravity and bathymetry, Mr. May also has strong expertise in GPS. From 1987-1996, Mr. May was the chief analyst of the GPS Division for the Navy’s GPS Central Engineering Activity which was responsible for analysis and integration of GPS on numerous DoD platforms. He led the team that specified and tested the first military embedded GPS Inertial Navigation Assembly (GINA) and was the project engineer and innovator for the Simulated Inertial GPS Navigation Laboratory (SIGNaL) concept.

Mr. May has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the CCNY, a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from NYU, and courses towards a DEE degree at Polytechnic Institute of New York. He also is a registered Professional Engineer. Throughout most of his career, Mr. May has provided education and training at both the graduate and undergraduate levels as well as through short courses that cover a large diversity of topics. He developed and taught Master’s degree navigation courses at Wilkes University and also managed Penn State Applied Research Laboratory’s (ARL) Navigation Education Program.

Mr. May’s navigation service includes over 30 years as an ION member. He has held numerous offices in the Philadelphia Section. He has also served at the national level as the Eastern Region Council member. Since 1997 he has served as the original historian of the ION. In this capacity he has written over 25 articles on navigation history for ION’s Newsletter. His service has included participation on the Defense Science Board Subcommittee for GPS Jamming, the Navy’s Research Advisory Committee for NAVWAR as well as serving as a member of the Navigator of the Navy’s Subject Matter Expert team. He has been a session chair for numerous navigation symposiums, and has written or co-authored over 25 papers for navigation symposium proceedings. He is a recipient of the ION’s Weems Award.