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), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...

. 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: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

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 land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

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

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

team. She completed her Ph.D. at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1991, working on the plans for

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

under the supervision of

Bradford Parkinson Bradford Parkinson (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 contribu ...

. 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 the world's premier non-profit professional society advancing the art and science of positioning, navigation and timing. It was founded in 1945 and serves communities interested in navigation and positioning ...

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. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of ...

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 in 2019, "for analysis of multipath GPS signals to improve satellite navigation and new approaches to remote sensing". 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 American women engineers MIT School of Engineering alumni Stanford University School of Engineering alumni Stanford University faculty University of Colorado faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering American women academics 21st-century American women