Demo One Ivan A. Getting
Father of GPS
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IVAN GETTING
Father of the GPS System
Ivan Alexander Getting (January 18, 1912—October
11, 2003) was an American physicist and electrical
engineer, credited (along with Bradford Parkinson) with the
development of the Global Positioning System (GPS). He
was the co-leader (the other being Louis Ridenour) of the
research group which developed the SrCR-584, an
automatic microwave tracking fire-control system, which
enabled anti-aircraft guns to destroy a significant percentage
of the German V-1 flying bombs launched against London
near the end of World War II.

Ivan A. Getting was born on 18 January,  1912 in New York
City to family of Slovak immigrants and grew up in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology as an Edison Scholar and Oxford
University as a Graduate Rhodes Scholar,  He worked at
Harvard University on nuclear instrumentation and cosmic
rays and was Director of the Division on Fire Control and
Army Radar at the MIT Radiation Laboratory,  During the
Second World War he was a special consultant to Secretary
of War Henry L. Stimson on the Army’s use of radar. He also
served as head of the Naval Fire Control Section of the
Office of Scientific Research and Development, member of
the Combined Chiefs of Staff Committee on Searchlight and
Fire Control, and head of the Radar Panel of the Research
and Development Board of the Department of Defense.

During the Korean War, Getting became Assistant for
Development Planning, Deputy Chief of Staff, United States
Air Force; and in 1951, Vice President for Engineering and
Research at the Raytheon Corporation (1951-1960). While
at Raytheon, Getting also served on the Undersea Warfare
Committee of the National Research Council.

In 1960 Getting became founding President of the
Aerospace Corporation (1960-1977). The Corporation was
established at the request of the Secretary of the Air Force
as a non-profit organization to apply "the full resources of
modern science and technology to the problem of achieving
those continued advances in ballistic missiles and space
systems, which are basic to national security." Getting was
also a founding member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory
Group (later renamed the Scientific Advisory Board) and
chair of its Electronics Panel. In 1978 he served as President
of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He
served on the Board of Directors of the Northrop
Corporation and the Board of Trustees of the Environmental
Research Institute of Michigan.
Getting retired from the Aerospace Corporation in 1977, and
died on October 11, 2003, in Coronado, California.
While at MIT Radiation Laboratory, Getting’s group
developed the first automatic microwave tracking fire
control radar, the SCR 584. This system, along with the
proximity fuze, significantly reduced damage to London by
the V-1 flying bombs (also known as "doodlebugs" or "buzz
bombs") launched by Germany from June 1944 of the
Second World War, by enabling accurate anti-aircraft fire to
destroy the missiles. On 28 August 1944, the last day on
which significant numbers of V-1s were launched against
London, of 104 fired, 68 were destroyed by artillery, 16 by
other means, and 16 crashed.
.He was also involved in the development of the first
high-speed flip-flop circuit at Harvard. He also was involved
in the development of the Navy GFCS MK-56 anti-aircraft fire
control system; as well as in the development and building of a
350 MeV synchrotron at MIT Radiation Laboratory. He also
was involved in the development of the Sparrow III and Hawk
missile systems; as well as commercial production of
transistors at Raytheon.
As a consultant to the US government: implementation of the
Quick Reaction Capability for Electronic Counter-Measures;
establishment of the SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied
Parties in Europe)Laboratory at the Hague; deployment of
U.S. air defense capability called the Semi-Automatic Ground
Environment (radar) system; direction of studies on MX
missile basing and long-range combat aircraft; technical
analysis and design of a long-range supersonic bomber
capable of reaching the former Soviet Union and returning
without refueling (Getting's work is credited in the
reinstatement of the B-1 bomber funding by the U.S.
Congress).
As member of the Undersea Warfare Committee of the
National Research Council: Associate Director of Project
Nobska sponsored by the U.S. Navy and concerning
submarine warfare weapons; recommended a submarine-
based, solid-propellant intermediate-range ballistic missile
that formed the basis for the Polaris missile.
In Aerospace Corporation: planning for new ballistic missile
systems; oversight of space launch systems; development of
high-powered chemical lasers; contributions to the Mercury
and Gemini space launch systems.
Major awards and recognitions
•        Presidential Medal of Merit (1948)
•        The Naval Ordnance Development Award
•        The Air Force Exceptional Service Award (1960)
•        IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Pioneer Award
(1975)
•        The Kitty Hawk Award (1975)
•        The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineer’s
Pioneer Award and Founders Medal (1989)
•        The Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished
Public Service (1997)
Getting in 1962 with American astronaut Alan
Shepard at The Aerospace Corporation.
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