John Raquet wins the ION Johannes Kepler Award

Dr. John Raquet, who studied in the Department of Geomatics Engineering during the period 1994-97, received the Johannes Kepler Award at the annual meeting of the US-based Institute of Navigation on Global Navigation Satellite Systems held in Baltimore, MD, during September 17-20. The award, created in 1991, is presented once per year to the person who has made the most remarkable and sustained contributions during his/her career. Experts from anywhere in the world are eligible.

Dr. Raquet obtained a three-year leave from the US Air Force in 1994 to complete his PhD. His previous degrees were a BS in Astronautical Engineering from the USAF Academy and an MS in Aero/Astro Engineering from MIT.  Following successful completion of his PhD in 1997, he taught for 21 years at the Air Force Institute of Technology in Dayton, Ohio. He now leads a company conducting advanced R&D in the field of navigation.  More on the outstanding career of Dr. Raquet at https://www.ion.org/news/index.cfm

Dr. Raquet’s PhD studies were supervised by Professor Gérard Lachapelle, himself recipient of the Johannes Kepler Award in 1997. Two other people associated with the Department have received the Award. Professor M. Elizabeth Cannon in 2001 and Mr. Pat Fenton in 2006. Mr. Fenton received his BSc from the department in 1981 and was instrumental in the successful creation and operation of Calgary-based NovAtel (now Hexagon), a leading GNSS company now employing over 500 personnel.  The astonishing number of four Kepler awards received by past professors and students of the department is unmatched anywhere and reflects its long history of outstanding contributions to GNSS technologies.