Plenary Session

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Date: Monday, April 28, 2025
Time: 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Welcome, Meeting Highlights and Introduction of the Technical Committee

Dr. Gary McGraw
ION President & PLANS Executive Committee Chair

Opening of the Plenary Session

Dr. Christian Gentner
PLANS Technical Program Chair

Keynote Address

GPS: Past and Present Challenges

This keynote delves into the incredible evolution of GPS, from its early struggles to its indispensable role in today’s world. Dr. Parkinson will address GPS’s surprising applications, growing infrastructure dependency, and its significance as a tool of national power. He will also addresses current challenges, such as defeating interference and enhancing system resilience, while celebrating GPS's exceptional 99.999% availability. A glimpse into the future rounds out this exploration of one of the most vital technologies of our time.

Dr. Bradford Parkinson, known as the “Father of GPS”, was the chief architect for the design of GPS who led the Pentagon battle to gain approval, and then led the program through its capability in 1978. He later led pioneering GPS research at Stanford University in robotic farming and aviation; as well as relativity and astronautics. As a U.S. military instructor and developer, he has earned multiple military citations and military recognitions; is the winner of the IEEE Gold Medal and the Marconi; the ION’s Thurlow and Kepler Awards; the Charles Stark Draper Prize; and the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. Dr. Parkinson is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and an ION and IEEE Fellow.

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