Gdynia Maritime University GMU

Professor Bradford Parkinson of the University of Stanford, California, was awarded the honorary title of Doctor honoris causa of Gdynia Maritime University on Thursday 21 March 2024. The honorary title is one of the most prestigious titles conferred in the academic world. Gdynia Maritime University has to date conferred the title six times. 

Professor Bradford Parkinson - the “Father of GPS” - of Stanford University was honoured by Gdynia Maritime University with the honorary title of Doctor honoris causa. The Professor personally oversaw the launch of the first GPS satellites into orbit, their coordination and pre-launch testing and is the inventor of many innovative applications for GPS. The innovation of his work has been confirmed by seven patents. Professor Parkinson has been honoured with many awards and distinctions for his scientific and professional activity. One of the most important awards is the Queen Elizabeth Award, which was presented to the entire team responsible for the architecture and development of GPS in 2019 by the Prince of Wales (now King Charles III).

In his opening speech, the President of Gdynia Maritime University reminded those present of the momentousness of the occasion connected with the conferral ceremony - the 50th anniversary of the launch of the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System, which fully revolutionised air, marine, and land navigation, of which Bradford Parkinson was the main architect as the Head of the United States Air Force’s (USAF) NAVSTAR GPS Joint Programme Office.

HM The President of Gdynia Maritime University highlighted also that:

The motion to confer the honorary title of Doctor honoris causa on Professor Bradford Parkinson was supported by the senates of four higher education institutions: Warsaw University of Technology, the Polish Naval Academy, the Polish Air Force University, and Gdynia Maritime University. The reviewers, as part of the conferral procedure, were Professor Jarosław Bosy of Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Professor Stanisław Oszczak of the Polish Air Force University, and Professor Zbigniew Burciu of Gdynia Maritime University.   

Professor Weintirt also highlighted the impact of the launch of  the Global Positioning System in 1973 on the world:

Today, billions of people around the world rely on the enormous engineering infrastructure that is GPS, which covers the entire planet and reaches into space. Thanks to the ability of the satellite system to accurately pinpoint the location of receivers and a well-designed map, we can reach our destination without even knowing the route.

A laudation was given at the ceremony by Professor Krzysztof Czaplewski. The promoter underlined the global significance of the work of Professor Parkinson. 

Without the personal involvement of Professor Parkinson, modern transportation would not be what it is today. There would be no electronic banking or popular VOD services.

He also paid tribute to other achievements of the inventor:

Another extremely important achievement, however, is the creation of the theoretical foundations and the development of the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAaS), mainly used in air transport.  The U.S. GPS Satellite Support System increases the accuracy of the determination of the horizontal position by a GPS receiver to 2-3 meters. GPS receivers, assisted by the WAAS system, use corrections when calculating their positions to improve the accuracy of determined positions. The Professor is also the author of other innovations in using satellite systems, such as the blind landing of Boeing 737 aircraft using GPS alone.

Following the laudation, the President of Gdynia Maritime University, Professor Adam Weintrit, read the act for the conferral of the honorary title of Doctor honoris causa. This was followed by the ceremonial presentation of the Doctor honoris causa Diploma to the Honorary Doctor, Professor Bradford Parkinson. 

Professor Parkinson then took to the floor to give a talk specially prepared for the occasion, beginning with the following words of appreciation:

I would like to thank HM The Rector of Gdynia Maritime University, Profesor Adam Weintrit, for this very prestigious recognition. I would also like to thank Profesor Krzysztof Czaplewski. My gratitude goes also to the members of the Senate and distinguished Reviewers who were so appreciative of my research work which was reflected in the symbolic, yet moving ceremony of the conferral of the honorary title of Doctor honoris causa.

Professor Bradford Parkinson then shared the detailed history of how the GPS project came to fruition. His account drew attention to the many turning points when the success of the project was uncertain:

Let us go back a little over 50 years. I experienced my greatest failure. I was a young Air Force colonel. I had flown across the country from my base in Los Angeles over to Washington D.C. I was giving a briefing to the highest-level decision board in the Department of Defense. It was a large conference room, filled with generals and very senior civilians. I had been recently appointed to head up a research project and I wanted to put on a demonstration of a new satellite navigation system. At the end of that meeting, I stepped out of the room, and when I came back they announced the decision. It was unanimous. No. They didn’t want to do that. As a result, we tended to call that the Black Thursday. (…) Somehow, we recovered from that, so although we called it Black Thursday, it was really Gold Thursday, for reasons I will tell you about. About four months later I got that reversed and by December 1973, just almost exactly a little over 50 years ago, we were granted approval. I’d like to thank you all for helping us celebrate our revolution.

Following his presentation, the audience participating in the event was given the opportunity to ask questions.

The host of the ceremony, Aleksander Gosk, informed those in attendance of letters of congratulations received in connection with the occasion, and also read letters received from representatives of the Ministry.

In his letter to President of Gdynia Maritime University, Professor Adam Weintrit, the Minister of Science, Dariusz Wieczorek, expressed recognition for the achievements of Professor Bradford Parkinson and the initiative of Gdynia Maritime University to honour the distinguished scientist with the title of Doctor honoris causa. 

I would like to express my deepest appreciation for your scientific achievements (…). It can be said without hesitation that your invention has brought an epochal change to the functioning of the world and humanity. Nowadays, it is difficult to imagine life without a satellite navigation system (…).

In a letter sent to the President of GMU for the occasion of the conferral ceremony, the Secretary of state in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Arkadiusz Marchewka, expressed his congratulations and appreciation of the work of Professor Bradford Parkinson:

I would like to express my appreciation of the outstanding scientific achievements of Professor Bradford Parkinson, known as the Father of the Global Positioning System. I am delighted that this honorary title will be awarded to the person behind a giant leap in the history of navigation.

Letters of congratulations were also received from other representatives of higher education in Poland: The Rector of Gdańsk University of Technology, Professor Krzysztof Wilde; the Rector of Poznań University of Technology; Professor Teofil Jesionowski; the Rector of Silesia University of Technology, Professor Arkadiusz Mężyk; the Rector of the University Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Professor Andrzej Przyborowsk; the Rector of AGH University of Krakow, Professor Jerzy Lis; the Rector of Warsaw University of Technology, Professor Krzysztof Zaremba; the Chair of the Council for Scientific Excellence, Professor Bronisław Sitek; and the President of the Gdańsk Scientific Society, Professor Jerzy Błażejowski.

The ceremony came to a close following the unveiling of the name of Professor Bradford Parkinson on the commemorative tablet of Honorary Doctors of Gdynia Maritime University.

On the Occasion of the conferral of the honorary title of Doctor honoris causa on Bradford Parkinson, Gdynia Maritime University Published a dual-language commemorative book, entitled "Prof. Bradford Parkinson - Doctor Honoris Causa". 

Photo Gallery          Letters of Congratulations      Commemorative Book