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Four PNT Pioneers Awarded the 2019 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering

On December 3, 2019, the Prince of Wales, presented the 2019 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering to 4 American PNT engineers for their development of GPS
Prince Charles and 2019 QE Engineering Prize recipients photo
Photo courtesy of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation, Jason Alden, Photographer
Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering trophy photo

On December 3, 2019, in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, presented 2019 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering trophies to four American PNT engineers for their pioneering work in developing GPS, the first truly global, satellite-based positioning system. The QEPrize is the world's most prestigious engineering accolade, a £1 million prize that celebrates the global benefit of engineering innovation on humanity.

Lord John Browne, Chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation, highlighted the critical role of collaboration in engineering, and in groundbreaking innovations such as GPS:
"Our laureates' success was the result of inter-disciplinary collaboration, a drive for excellence, and an ability to turn the fruits of scientific discovery into practical solutions. That is what engineers do," he said.

Photo of Prince Philip and the 2019 Queen Elizabeth Prize recipients
(l-r) Lord John Browne, Richard Schwartz, HRH The Prince of Wales, Bradford Parkinson, Hugo Fruehauf, Anna Marie Spilker at the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering ceremony in Buckingham Palace, December 3, 2019.

 

During the ceremony, His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, presented trophies to Dr Bradford Parkinson, Hugo Fruehauf, Richard Schwartz, and Anna Marie Spilker, who accepted the award on behalf of her late husband, Professor James Spilker, Jr. Both Dr. Parkinson and the late Dr. Spilker were co-founders of SCPNT.

Dr. Bradford Parkinson—often regarded as the "father of GPS"—led the development, design, and testing of the GPS system.

Photo of Prince Philip handing QE2 Engineering prize to Brad Parkinson
HRH, The Prince of Wales, presents 2019 QEPrize trophy to Dr. Bradford Parkinson.

Bradford Parkinson said: "Today marks a landmark moment in all of our lives--there is no prize for engineering greater than this, it is an honor. This recognition reflects the responsibility incumbent upon those developing technology today to strive to do so for the good of humanity. Day-after-day, we are astounded at the new ways in which people across the world use GPS. It is a 'System for Humanity' in each and every sense."

Hugo Fruehauf developed a highly accurate, miniaturized atomic clock, a foundational component of the system.

Photo of Prince Philip handing 2019 QE2 Engineering prize to Hugo Fruehauf
HRH, The Prince of Wales, presents 2019 QE2 Prize trophy to Hugo Fruehauf

Hugo Fruehauf said: "The accuracy of modern GPS satellites astounds me. The atomic clocks we built for the satellites were accurate to within billionths of a second, but today's generation are working a factor of 100 times better than that. They're a lot like wine, in a sense--they only get better with time. And they have to be accurate; the timing for GPS is used for core systems around the world--vital infrastructure like banking systems, telecommunications networks, and power grids. Today the world relies on those clocks."

Richard Schwartz engineered a satellite hardened to resist intense radiation in space, with a lifespan three times greater than expected.

Photo of Prince Charles presenting 2019 QE2 Engineering Prize to Richard Schwartz
HRH, The Prince of Wales, presents 2019 QEPrize trophy to Richard Schwartz

 Richard Schwartz said: "One of the best things about GPS is its accessibility. We designed the system to produce a signal that anyone can use, regardless of where they are on the planet. Today, engineers around the world can still access that signal, for free, and use it to build creative solutions to benefit people around them. It took a great deal of collaboration to make the system work, and it's great to see the next generation collaborating on innovative products now because of that."

Professor James Spilker, Jr, was the main designer of the GPS civil signal and, with his team at Stanford Telecommunications, built the receiver that processed the first GPS satellite signals.

Photo of Prince Charles presenting 2019 QE2 Engineering prize to Anna Marie Spilker
HRH, The Prince of Wales, presents 2019 QEPrize trophy to Anna Marie Spilker, on behalf of her late husband, Professor James Spilker, Jr.

Anna Marie Spilker, on behalf her late husband, Professor James Spilker, Jr, said: "Jim's mission statement has always been to create, teach, and mentor for world-changing benefits to humanity through his engineering talents. When working on GPS, Jim knew that it could be of profound benefit globally, and he was right; because of their work, Jim and his colleagues have helped billions of people around the world. He was immensely proud of that. He said many times that 'Engineering technology is the necessary catalyst for progress to world changing benefits to humanity; it's magic.'"

Photo of 2019 QE2 Engineering prize recipients outside Buckingham Palace
2019 QEPrize recipients in front of Buckingham Palace

 GPS combines a constellation of at least 24 orbiting satellites with ground stations and receiving devices. Each satellite broadcasts a radio signal containing its location and the time from an extremely accurate onboard atomic clock. GPS receivers need signals from at least four satellites to determine their position; they measure the time delay in each signal to calculate the distance to each satellite, then use that information to pinpoint the receiver's location on earth.

Photo of 2019 QEPrize recipients and spouses/family in front of Buckingham Palace
2019 QEPrize recipients and spouses/family in front of Buckingham Palace

Today, an estimated four billion people around the world use GPS. At just $2 per receiver, GPS provides an accessible service and a powerful tool that people can integrate with their applications. Simple smartphone apps can track disease outbreaks, self-driving tractors can optimize crop harvests, and sports teams can improve team performance. New applications for GPS continue to revolutionize entire industries, and its annual economic value has been estimated to be $80 billion for the USA alone.

»Read More about the 2019 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering winners

»Read More about the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering

 

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