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Ivan Getting | |
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| Born | Ivan Alexander Getting (1912-01-18)January 18, 1912 New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 11, 2003(2003-10-11) (aged 91) |
| Occupations | Physicist, Electrical Engineer |
| Known for | Global Positioning System |
Ivan Alexander Getting (January 18, 1912 – October 11, 2003) was an Americanphysicist andelectrical engineer, credited (along withRoger L. Easton andBradford Parkinson) with the development of theGlobal Positioning System (GPS). He was the co-leader (the other beingLouis Ridenour) of the research group which developed theSCR-584, an automatic microwave tracking fire-control system, which enabledM9 Gun Director directedanti-aircraft guns to destroy a significant percentage of the GermanV-1 flying bombs launched againstLondon late in theSecond World War.
Getting was born on January 18, 1912 inNew York City to a family ofSlovak immigrants fromBytča,Slovakia and grew up inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as an Edison Scholar (S.B. Physics, 1933); andMerton College, Oxford as a GraduateRhodes Scholar (D.Phil., 1935) inastrophysics.[1]
He worked atHarvard University on nuclear instrumentation and cosmic rays (Junior Fellow, 1935–1940) and theMIT 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 WarHenry L. Stimson on the Army's use ofradar. 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.
In 1950, during theKorean 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 theRaytheon Corporation (1951-1960).[1] While at Raytheon, Getting also served on the Undersea Warfare Committee of theNational Research Council.
In 1960, he was founding President ofThe Aerospace Corporation (1960-1977).[1] 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 a founding member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Group (later renamed the Scientific Advisory Board) and chair of its Electronics Panel. Getting retired from The Aerospace Corporation in 1977.
In 1978, he served as President of theInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.[2] He also served on the board of directors of theNorthrop Corporation and the Board of Trustees of theEnvironmental Research Institute of Michigan.
Getting died on October 11, 2003, inCoronado, California, aged 91.[citation needed]
While at MIT Radiation Laboratory, Getting's group developed the first automatic microwave tracking fire control radar, the SCR 584. This system, along with theproximity fuze, significantly reduced damage to London by theV-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.[3]
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 proposedIntercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) that would achieve mobility by traveling on a railroad system. While at 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 thePentagon.
He was also involved in the development of the first high-speedflip-flop circuit atHarvard. He also was involved in the development of the NavyGFCS MK-56 anti-aircraft fire control system; as well as in the development and building of a 350MeVsynchrotron atMIT Radiation Laboratory. He also was involved in the development of theSparrow III andHawk missile systems; as well as commercial production oftransistors atRaytheon.
As a consultant to the US government: implementation of the Quick Reaction Capability for Electronic Counter-Measures; establishment of the SHAPESupreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe Laboratory at the Hague; deployment of U.S. air defense capability called the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) 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 theB-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 thePolaris missile.
At The Aerospace Corporation: planning for new ballistic missile systems; oversight of space launch systems; development of high-powered chemical lasers; contributions to theMercury andGemini space launch systems.
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