2024 Thurlow Award

Presented to: Dr. José Ángel Ávila Rodríguez

Citation: For substantial contributions to the field of navigation, including Galileo’s signal design, leadership in Galileo modernization, and efforts to foster international collaboration and education

2024 Thurlow Award - Dr. José Ángel Ávila Rodríguez

Dr. José Ángel Ávila Rodríguez is a Galileo pioneer whose efforts have been central to the development and modernization of Galileo’s signals, ensuring Europe’s interoperability and compatibility with other GNSS systems. One of his most notable achievements is the development of CBOC multiplexing technique, an advanced signal modulation for Galileo’s first generation, and the European version of the MBOC. This innovation was instrumental in creating a common modulation standard between Galileo and GPS, significantly enhancing the reliability and accuracy of global satellite navigation services.

Dr. Ávila Rodríguez played a leading role in the modernization of the Galileo system. He oversaw the design and implementation of advanced concepts of future signals and the security of the Galileo system, including cryptographic elements to safeguard the system’s resilience for the coming decades, particularly in the development of governmental signals. He has been a key participant in working groups led by ESA, the European Commission, and the EU Agency for the Space Program, where his expertise has been instrumental toward the achievement of key cooperation agreements in interoperability.

Dr. Ávila Rodríguez is dedicated to education. He coorganizes the ESA-JRC Summer School on GNSS, where he leads a team of experts in delivering advanced training to the next generation of satellite navigation engineers and researchers.

Dr. Ávila Rodríguez is currently head of the Future Program Office at the ESA, after serving for several years as head of the Galileo 2nd Generation System Security Services Office. He received the ION Parkinson Award (2008), the ION Early Achievement Award (2009), and is an ION Fellow (2020). He is the recipient of the European Inventor Award (2017), and the Spanish Ministry of Defense’s Cross of the Aeronautical Merit (2019). He received his PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of the FAF Munich, and MS in Electrical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid.