2005 Thurlow Award

Presented to: Dr. Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska

Citation: For significant contributions to the science of navigation, applications in Earth rotation and orbit parameter estimation, GPS/INS direct sensor orientation in airborne mapping, network-based RTK GPS Internet service, and sustained dedication to academic excellence and leadership in the navigation community.

Dr. Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska, associate professor in geodetic science at The Ohio State University and director of its SPIN Laboratory, has made numerous contributions to the science of navigation and to professional societies related to navigation and the geosciences.

She developed a new approach to GPS orbit and Earth rotation parameter estimation based on triple-differencing of carrier phase observations. She led the NASA-sponsored effort of prototyping a GPS/INS module of the Airborne Integrated Mapping System. She led a research group at OSU that developed network-based RTK and rapid-static algorithms and software to support the National Geodetic Survey's on-line GPS data processing service OPUS.

At OSU she built a strong research program, developed new graduate courses, and in 2004 established the Satellite Positioning and Inertial Navigation (SPIN) Laboratory, which won the prestigious U.S. Geospatial Information Foundation 2005 Academic Achievement Award for the research conducted for National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on personnel navigation. Her research interests cover precise kinematic positioning with GPS, precision orbit determination for GPS/LEO (Low Earth Orbit), GPS/INS integration, multi-sensor mobile mapping technology, polar geodesy and robust estimation techniques.

Dr. Grejner-Brzezinska is also a successful and dedicated academic adviser to (currently) 10 doctoral and two master's students. Despite her busy schedule, she finds time to work with and reward her students, nominating them for national and international awards.

She holds a Ph.D. (1995) and an M.S. in geodetic science from OSU, and an M.S. in surveying and land management from The Technical and Agricultural University of Olsztyn, Poland. A Fulbright scholar (1991–95), Dr. Grejner-Brzezinska is also a recipient of three ION Best Paper Awards (1998, 2002 and 2004), the OSU College of Engineering 2003 Lumley Research Award, 2004 ESRI Award for Best Scientific Paper in Geographic Information Systems, the U.S. Geospatial Information Foundation 2005 Academic Achievement Award, The OSU Kaarina and Weiko A. Heiskanen Senior (2001) and Junior (1993) Awards, and the 2000 NASA New Investigators Program Award.