2004 Fellow

Presented to: Dr. Benjamin B. Peterson

Citation: For the development of navigation systems that perform well in challenging radio environments.

Dr. Benjamin B. Peterson has developed several effective techniques for improving GPS performance in urban canyons. He developed a receiver that would continue to navigate with two satellites and a stable frequency source. He has also developed a dynamic programming algorithm to estimate vehicle path from limited measurements and a GPS positioning algorithm that does not need the time information in the most-fragile GPS navigation message.

Dr. Peterson developed a VHF spread spectrum navigation system for tracking troops inside buildings, which was successfully demonstrated at Fort Benning in 1998.

Dr. Peterson has thoroughly investigated Loran performance in deep urban canyons and for DoD counterdrug applications. He developed a miniature low-power Loran sensor for integration with GPS in urban warfare environments and a magnetic loop antenna for a Loran receiver. Currently, he co-chairs the Loran Integrity Performance Panel (LORIPP), which strives to determine whether Loran can meet the integrity and availability requirements for non-precision approach. Dr. Peterson is also involved with the Loran Accuracy Performance Panel (LORAPP), where he leads the investigation to determine whether Loran can backup GPS for harbor and harbor entrance navigation.

Finally, Dr. Peterson has served as the lead educator and mentor for many U.S. Coast Guard cadets. Their names appear as co-authors on Dr. Peterson's publications, which include nine journal articles, four book chapters, and more than 29 conference papers.

Dr. Peterson received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Yale in 1983, and spent most of his career on the faculty of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He retired from the Academy in 2000 as a Coast Guard captain, head of the Department of Engineering, and director of the Center for Advanced Studies. At that time, he founded Peterson Integrated Geopositioning.

Dr. Peterson's work has received numerous recognitions. He received the ION's Burka Award for the best paper to appear inNAVIGATIONin 1991. And in 1995, he received the U.S. Coast Guard's Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award. The International Loran Association has recognized Dr. Peterson with best paper awards in 1998 and 2002, and with their Medal of Merit in 2000.

Dr. Peterson has been an active member of the ION , serving as president, executive vice president, associate editor ofN avigation, and as session chair at numerous ION meetings.