2015 Fellow

Presented to: Dr. Y. Jade Morton

Citation: For contributions to GNSS software receivers and the development of a world-wide network of space weather monitoring stations.

Dr. Y. Jade Morton has contributed to an understanding of the ionosphere, its effect on GNSS signals, and to the advancement of satellite navigation technology. By combining her expertise in both satellite navigation and space science, Dr. Morton has created innovative solutions to advance knowledge and applications in both fields. She has an international reputation as an expert in GNSS software receiver technology, as exemplified by her numerous invited international talks and technical publications.

Dr. Morton led a team that established a world-wide network of multi-constellation GNSS data collection systems that autonomously records signals while they are being affected by space weather. This information has been used to design and develop more robust receivers and to study the causes and effects of ionospheric disturbances on radio signal propagation. Dr. Morton’s team developed multi-domain processing techniques to analyze GNSS signals to improve GPS coordinate measurement precision and made it possible for GNSS receivers to generate navigation solutions when few, or no, satellites can be tracked by conventional methods.

Dr. Morton has held numerous volunteer leadership positions in the ION, including program and general chair of the ION GNSS+ and ITM meetings, program co-chair of ION’s Pacific PNT, and most recently as Satellite Division chair. Dr. Morton is a dedicated educator whose technological acumen and charismatic teaching style provide an outstanding model for attracting female students to the engineering profession. She has been active in ION’s international outreach activities and advised award-winning academic teams that have competed in engineering competitions. Dr. Morton holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Penn State and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan. She played an instrumental role in establishing the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Miami University before she became a professor at Colorado State University in 2014. She is an IEEE Fellow and recipient of ION’s Thurlow Award.