Presented to: Dr. Günter W. Hein
Citation: For Galileo Signal Design since 2001 and paving the way for the cooperation of Europe with the U.S. on the integration of GPS and Galileo; contributions to the Galileo/GPS MBOC signal on the L1 frequency; and pioneering work in carrier phase ambiguity resolution.
Dr. Hein's work in GPS started in 1983, when he formed a research group which did basic pioneering R&D in the field of real-time kinematic GPS positioning and GPS/INS integration. From 1990 to 2000 his research topics covered kinematic GPS/GLONASS, high-precision differential GPS/GLONASS, GNSS-1 (EGNOS), GNSS-2 (GPSIIF and Galileo), GPS/INS and multi sensor integration, pseudolite development for aircraft precision approaches, GPS integration with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RAIM), orbit determination, use of airborne and space techniques for gravity (field) determination, use of GPS and CCD cameras for the determination of the deflections of the vertical, GNSS attitude determination, use of GNSS for weather forecast, and satellite altimetry.
Since 2000, he has been the German representative in the EC Galileo Signal Task Force. With strong engagement, he was active in defining a high-performance signal structure for the European satellite navigation system Galileo (including innovative elements) and coordinated the European technical expertise among the UK, France, European Union, and ESA. He convinced the European decision-makers that an interoperability of the civil services of Galileo with GPS was the best solution. In a pragmatic way, he has always been know for integrating American and European interests for a future high-performance international GNSS. In this context he contributed to the U.S.–EU Agreement on Global Positioning System (GPS) – Galileo Cooperation of 2004. From 2004 to 2006 he contributed to the MBOC development in an EU–U.S. working Group.
In the critical decision process about the funding principle of Galileo in 2007 (Public Private Partnership versus Public Funding) he directly counseled the Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel. Besides this Professor Hein has organized the Munich Satellite Navigation Summit, an international forum on satellite navigation, from 2004 to 2008, and implemented the International Summer School on Global Navigation Satellite Systems in Berchtesgaden (Germany) since 2007. Since December 2008 he has been responsible for EGNOS and the Galileo evolution program at the European Space Agency.
Dr. Hein has published over 280 scientific publications in navigation and geodesy and has lead over 100 research grants. He received ION GNSS Best Paper Awards in 1988, 1991, and 2000. He was the European Representative on the Satellite Division Executive Committee of the U.S. Institute of Navigation for multiple terms and currently serves as the Galileo advisor to the ION Satellite Division. Dr. Hein is the recipient of the 2002 Johannes Kepler Award from The Institute of Navigation.