2019 Weems Award

Presented to: Dr. Joseph J. Rushanan

Citation: For sustained contributions to the design of GPS, including M-Code, the L1C signal, and the promotion of assurance concepts for all GPS users.

Dr. Joseph J. Rushanan is a principal mathematician for The MITRE Corporation, where he has done innovative navigation work for the past two decades. His initial focus began in signal design in 1998 as part of the GPS Modernized Signal Design Team, specifically the cryptographic design sub-team. Later he was part of the L1C design team, where he invented the Weil-based spreading codes and was a co-designer of the time-multiplexed binary offset carrier (TMBOC) modulation. More recently, he was lead author of the Interface Specification update for the US Army’s pseudolite signal.

Dr. Rushanan’s focus on navigation assurance began with initial studies in data authentication methods in the early 2000s, followed with studies in GPS user equipment security architecture, where he championed the Keyless M-Code concept. More recently, he has been supporting the Navigation Technology Satellite 3 program for the Air Force Research Laboratory as co-lead for the cryptographic signal experiments. As part of this effort, he co-developed the Chimera concept for GNSS signal authentication (originated by Scott) and co-authored the Chimera interface specification. In addition, Dr. Rushanan has been leading MITRE’s research efforts in defining methods to measure PNT assurance leveraging the emerging work in probabilistic inference. His expertise in cryptography has manifested in tutorials such as for ION’s JNC and as an adjunct lecturer at Northeastern University’s Khoury College of Computer Sciences Cybersecurity program.

Besides research in navigation, Dr. Rushanan has worked in such diverse areas as binary sequences, parallel processing, and wireless and secure communication, the latter including a joint patent on using atmospheric turbulence to generate random keys.

Dr. Rushanan received a BS/MS in Mathematics from The Ohio State University in 1982 and PhD in Mathematics from the California Institute of Technology in 1986.