Ivan A. 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). Inventor of the SCR-584 automatic microwave tracking fire-control system that is credited with enabling anti-aircraft guns to destroy 95% of the V-1 German cruise bombs that attacked London late in the Second World War. January 18 is the 18th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... October 11 is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dr Bradford Parkinson is a professor at Stanford University and is credited as the co-inventor of the Global Positioning System. ... GPS satellite in orbit, image courtesy NASA GPS redirects here. ... Exterior view of the SCR-584. ... American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ... The Vergeltungswaffe 1 Fi 103 / FZG-76 (V-1), known as the Flying bomb, Buzz bomb or Doodlebug, was the first modern guided missile used in wartime and the first cruise missile. ... A Tomahawk cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile which uses a lifting wing and most often a jet propulsion system to allow sustained flight. ... London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England and is the most populous city in the European Union. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

Biography and positions held

Ivan A. Getting was born on 18 January, 1912 in New York City and grew up in Pittsburg, PA. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as an Edison Scholar (Bachelor of Science, 1933); and Oxford University as a Graduate Rhodes Scholar (D.Phil., 1935). He then worked at Harvard University on nuclear instrumentation and cosmic rays (Junior Fellow, 1935-1940) and the MIT Radiation Laboratory (1940-1950; Director of the Division on Fire Control and Army Radar, Associate Professor 1945; Professor 1946). 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. Nickname The Big Apple, The Capital of the World [1], Gotham Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area  - Total  - Land  - Water 1,214. ... City nickname: The Steel City Location in the state of Pennsylvania Founded 1758 Mayor Tom Murphy (Dem) Area  - Total  - Water 151. ... The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, is a private research university located in the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. MIT is one of the worlds leading research institutions in science and technology. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... Rhodes House in Oxford The Rhodes Scholarships were created by Cecil Rhodes and have been awarded to applicants annually since 1902 by the Oxford-based Rhodes Trust on the basis of academic qualities, as well as those of character. ... Harvard University campus (old map) Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... The Radiation Laboratory or often RadLab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology was in operation from October 1940 until December 31, 1945. ... Henry L. Stimson Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, who served as Secretary of War, Governor-General of the Philippines, and Secretary of State at various times. ... This long range radar antenna, known as ALTAIR, is used to detect and track space objects in conjunction with ABM testing at the Ronald Reagan Test Site on the Kwajalein atoll[1]. Radar is a system that uses radio waves to detect, determine the distance of, and map, objects such...

In 1950, 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. Combatants Western Allied/UN combatants: South Korea, United States Communist combatants: North Korea, Peoples Republic of China Strength Note: All figures may vary according to source. ... Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) is a major United States military contractor based in Waltham, Massachusetts. ... -1...

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. Not to be confused with the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE). ... The Northrop Corporation was a leading aircraft manufacturer of the United States. ...

Getting retired from the Aerospace Corporation in 1977, and died on October 11, 2003, in Coronado, California.

Major technical and administrative contributions

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, was credited with helping to save London from destruction at the end of the Second World War by intercepting and enabling the targeting of German V-1 cruise bombs (also known as "doodlebugs" or "buzz bombs"). Look up Proximity fuze in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A proximity fuze (also called a VT fuze) is a fuze that is designed to detonate an explosive automatically when close enough to the target to destroy it. ...

Getting was an early designer and proponent of satellite-based navigation systems which led to the development and deployment of the Global Positioning System (GPS). While in Raytheon he oversaw the development of the first three-dimensional, time-difference-of-arrival position-finding system – developed in response to an Air Force requirement for a guidance system to be used with a proposed Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) that would achieve mobility by traveling on a railroad system. While in the Aerospace Corporation he oversaw studies on the use of satellites as the basis for a navigation system for vehicles moving rapidly in three dimensions. In addition to his technical contributions to GPS, Getting was a tireless advocate of the project, in the face of early resistance from the Pentagon. A Minuteman III missile after a test launch. ... A pre-9/11 view of The Pentagon, looking east with the Potomac River and Washington Monument in the distance. ...

Other projects include:

At Harvard: development of the first high-speed flip-flop circuit. In electronics and digital circuits, the flip-flop or bistable multivibrator is a pulsed digital circuit capable of serving as a one-bit memory. ...

At the MIT Radiation Laboratory: Development of the Navy GFCS MK-56 anti-aircraft fire control system; development and building of a 350-million electro volt synchrotron. A synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic particle accelerator in which the magnetic field (to turn the particles so they circulate) and the electric field (to accelerate the particles) are carefully synchronized with the travelling particle beam. ...

In Raytheon: development of the Sparrow III and Hawk missile systems; commercial production of transistors. A RIM-7 Sea Sparrow being launched from the USS Essex (LHD-2). ... A surface-to-air missile (SAM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. ... Assorted transistors The transistor is a solid state semiconductor device that can be used for amplification, switching, voltage stabilization, signal modulation and many other functions. ...

As a consultant to the US government: implementation of the Quick Reaction Capability for Electronic Counter-Measures; establishment of the SHAPE [Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers, 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). The Boeing IDS (formerly Rockwell) B-1B Lancer is a long-range strategic bomber in service with the United States Air Force (USAF). ...

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. Polaris A-1 on launch pad in Cape Canaveral Polaris A-3 on launch pad in Cape Canaveral The Polaris missile was a submarine-launched, nuclear-tipped ballistic missile (SLBM) built during the Cold War by the United States Navy. ...

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. Project Mercury was the United States first successful manned spaceflight program. ... Project Gemini insignia Project Gemini was the second human spaceflight program in which the United States of America sent humans into space, between Projects Mercury and Apollo, during the years 1963-1966. ...

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).

The John Fritz Medal (1998).

Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs.

San Diego Aerospace Museum's International Aerospace Hall of Fame (2002).

Navy Superior Public Service Award (1999).

The National Academy of Engineering Charles Stark Draper Prize (with Bradford Parkinson, 2003). The Charles Stark Draper Prize is awarded by the National Academy of Engineering for the advancement of engineering and the education of the public about engineering. ...

National Inventors Hall of Fame (posthumously, 2004).

External links

• Interview with Ivan A. Getting