Axelrad in 2022 Penina Axelrad is an American aerospace engineer known for her research on satellite orbital dynamics and the

Global Positioning System The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide ge ...

. She is Joseph T. Negler Professor in the Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research and the Ann and H.J. Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences department at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

Education and career

Axelrad earned bachelor's and master's degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT), in 1985 and 1986 respectively. At MIT, she was also captain of the university's

fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

team. She completed her Ph.D. at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1991, working on the plans for

Gravity Probe B Gravity Probe B (GP-B) was a satellite-based experiment whose objective was to test two previously-unverified predictions of general relativity: the geodetic effect and frame-dragging. This was to be accomplished by measuring, very precisely, t ...

under the supervision of

Bradford Parkinson Bradford Parkinson (born February 16, 1935) is an American engineer and inventor, retired United States Air Force Colonel and Emeritus Professor at Stanford University. He is best known as the lead architect, advocate and developer, with early co ...

. After continuing at Stanford for a year as a lecturer, while working in industry at Stanford Telecommunications Corp., she moved to the University of Colorado in 1992 as an assistant professor. She was promoted to full professor in 2005 and chaired the department of aerospace engineering sciences from 2012 to 2017. Axelrad is a member of the GPS Advisory Board and of the NASA Advisory Council. She served as president of the

Institute of Navigation The Institute of Navigation (ION) is a United States non-profit professional society advancing the art and science of positioning, navigation and timing. It was founded in 1946 by Samuel Herrick and P. V. H. Weems. It serves communities inter ...

for 2004–2005.

Recognition

Axelrad was the winner of the Lawrence Sperry Award of the

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecra ...

in 1996. The Institute of Navigation gave her their Tycho Brahe Award in 2002 "for her contributions to the science of space navigation, guidance, and control", and their Johannes Kepler Award in 2009, "for her continued contributions in the field of satellite navigation; dedication to the education of future generations of navigation engineers; and extensive service to professional societies including The Institute of Navigation". Women in Aerospace gave Axelrad their Aerospace Educator Award in 2015 "for her work as an instrumental leader in the development of hands-on curricula in the aerospace engineering program at the University of Colorado, as well as her devotion to mentoring graduate and undergraduate students, particularly women and underrepresented groups". She was named as a Fellow of the Institute of Navigation in 2004 "her continuing contributions to research and graduate and undergraduate education in the fields of dynamics and systems, aerospace electronics and communications, and GPS technology", and named a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2008. She was elected to the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

in 2019, "for analysis of multipath GPS signals to improve satellite navigation and new approaches to

remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an physical object, object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring inform ...

". The University of Colorado gave Axelrad the Joseph T. Negler Professorship in 2018.

References

External links

Home page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Axelrad, Penina Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American aerospace engineers 21st-century American women engineers 21st-century American engineers MIT School of Engineering alumni Stanford University School of Engineering alumni University of Colorado Boulder faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering American women academics Stanford University Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics faculty