2019 PTTI Distinguished Service Award

Presented to: Pascal Rochat

Citation: For advancing the state-of-the-art in high stability atomic clocks and for producing the only space-based H-maser in the world, operating on all Galileo satellites.

Pascal Rochat - PTTI Award 2019

Pascal Rochat is the founder of SpectraTime (now Orolia Switzerland) and T4Sciences Inc., both recognized around the world in the production of atomic clocks. For over 25 years, Mr. Rochat has grown these companies into leading atomic clock producers.

Prior to founding SpectraTime and T4Sciencies, Mr. Rochat was Deputy Director of the Observatory of Neuchatel, Switzerland. Over the years, he served in various research and development (R&D) design, management, and scientific research roles at companies in the US and Switzerland, producing mixed signal systems, precision time measurement devices, RF and digital signal processing systems.

Mr. Rochat started his research and industrial development career at Oscilloquartz SA in Neuchatel, designing high stability crystal oscillators and Stratum I time and frequency references for the telecom industry. He managed an R&D team for the production of many synchronization systems including Cesium Beam clock electronics. Mr. Rochat produced the only space-based passive hydrogen maser in the world, operating on the Galileo satellites since 2008. This clock is proving to be the most accurate of any of the GNSS clocks in service today. This maser, along with the highperformance space-based Rubidium Atomic Frequency Standard, comprise the more than 120 clocks flying in various GNSS systems around the globe today.

T4Science active hydrogen maser clocks were used to synchronize radio telescopes worldwide to capture the world’s first photo of a black hole. The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project used several iMaser 3000s to synchronize locations throughout the world to create one Earth-size telescope. Mr. Rochat produced the commercially successful rubidium atomic clock product line, providing the most affordable, high stability clock in the market today. More than 50,000 of these clocks have been delivered worldwide.

Mr. Rochat has registered several patents related to rubidium and maser technologies including the ultra-low power double resonance miniature rubidium clock.