2024 Fellow

Presented to: Dr. Keith McDonald

Citation: For contributions to navigation warfare testing and
PNT situational awareness; and for sustained thought
leadership and management impact in military
positioning, navigation, and timing

Dr. Keith McDonald is a technical leader of efforts in theoretical analysis, modeling and simulation, prototyping, laboratory and field testing, acquisition, and overall systems engineering across the military services, the intelligence community, and other government agencies. His early career focused on the development and performance analysis of navigation warfare systems, and he was integral to leading field-testing efforts exploring the performance of pioneering technologies under challenging conditions. He authored the widely-recognized All GPS HAs been Seriously Terminated (AGHAST) study concerning the impact of GPS loss and its prevention for military and civil applications. He was named a top 50, “Leader to Watch” by GPS World Magazine.

Currently, Dr. McDonald is a Technical Fellow and PNT portfolio director at The MITRE Corporation. He is responsible for setting strategic direction and coordinating the technical execution of MITRE’s PNT work portfolio to deliver impactful solutions to meet opportunities and challenges of national importance.

Dr. McDonald is widely recognized for his technical thought leadership and is a trusted advisor on major government PNT initiatives, challenges, policies, and priorities. He is a technical advisor to the U.S. Air Force PNT Capability Development Team and has served in leadership roles for an Allied consortium focused on collaborative technology growth. Most recently, he authored documentation providing analysis and recommendations on law, policy, strategy, and material solutions for PNT Situational Awareness that is guiding technology development and investment decisions across the PNT community.

Dr. Keith McDonald has frequently served as a session chair and presenter at ION conferences. In 2016 he re-invigorated the ION’s previously inactive New England Section, and now serves as its chair. He serves on the ION Council and the ION Military Division as JNC Vice-Chair. Dr. McDonald received his BS, MS, and PhD in Electrical Engineering from Lehigh University.