Gdynia Maritime University GMU

Esteemed Professor Bradford Parkinson,
Ladies and Gentlemen!

Today is a very special day in the hundred-year history of our University.

I would like to inform you that the Senate of our University decided to confer the honourable title of Doctor honoris causa on Professor Bradford Parkinson from Stanford University.

The Statutes of our University reserve this honorary title for persons of merit in the development of science and learning, culture, or the social life of the University.

Honourable Doctor honoris causa!

It is a great honour for us that you have decided to accept our distinction and you are here today with us to enjoy this momentous event.

Perhaps, our University is not so well known. Or perhaps this is only how it seems. The promoter of today's event, Professor Krzysztof Czaplewski, is the President of the International Association of Institutes of Navigation, and the current Chair of the International Association of Maritime Universities is the President of our University.

This gives the University some additional prominence and adds a little flavour to this great event.

Distinguished Professor!

Welcome to Poland, welcome to Gdynia, welcome to Gdynia Maritime University.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you on this exceptional occasion during which we have the honour of paying tribute to one of the most inspirational figures in the recent history of the world.

Today, I can safely say, without exaggeration, that only a few of our contemporaries have had such a huge impact on the development of almost every area of knowledge and technology to whom we owe so much as Doctor Bradford Parkinson, a Professor at Stanford University - the Father of GPS.

GPS completely revolutionised air, marine, and land navigation. It also improved the precision of time measurement and marine and aviation safety.

The satellite navigation system, known formally as NAVSTAR, the Global Positioning System, was launched in 1973. 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, including a navigational chart, we can reach our destination without even knowing the route.

Distinguished Guests!

You must agree that the occasion connected with the award of this honour was very special. Almost a year ago, precisely at the time of the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Global Positioning System NAVSTAR program, on my initiative, Gdynia Maritime University began the procedure for the conferral of the honorary title of Doctor honoris causa on Professor Bradford Parkinson.

The resolution on the matter was passed by the Senate of Gdynia Maritime University on 16 November 2023 and the decision was made to confer this honorary title on Professor Parkinson in recognition of his revolutionary contribution to the development of technology and all modes of transportation, as well as the creation of the foundations for epochal change in the functioning of the world in the 20th and 21st centuries through leading the team responsible for the development of the first global satellite navigation system.

According to our internal principles and rules, the nominations for the award of the honorary title of Doctor honoris causa must be supported by three external university senates, and so, I sought the approval of Warsaw University of Technology, the Polish Naval Academy, and the Polish Air Force University.

The Rectors of these academic institutions accepted my proposal without hesitation and positively petitioned their respective Senates to also support the nomination.

In addition to the support of three academic institutions, the procedure also requires the positive opinions of three independent professors. These were provided by 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.  

On November 21 of last year, I had the honour and pleasure of informing Professor Parkinson of the decision of the Senate of Gdynia Maritime University to confer on him the honorary title of Doctor honoris causa. In response, he wrote that it was "wonderful news and a great honour" that he was to receive an honorary title from our University as he himself is a graduate of the American Naval Academy, which has much in common with our, as he described it, "very capable educational institution."

Esteemed Professor,

Distinguished Honorary Doctor of Gdynia Maritime University, please accept my most sincere and heartfelt congratulations and deepest respect on behalf of our entire academic community.

It is indeed a great honour and privilege that you have accepted this distinction from Gdynia Maritime University.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with much delight that I now give the floor to Professor Krzysztof Czaplewski, who will give a laudation on the Professor, where he will present in more detail the background, career, and achievements of today's Honorary Doctor of Gdynia Maritime University, Professor Bradford Parkinson.