Dr. Christopher Ekstrom, deputy oceanographer and navigator of the Navy.LEXINGTON PARK, Md. (January 13, 2019)—For today's warfighter in the field, GPS is vital to mission success because it provides critical positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) information. But what happens when a GPS signal is unavailable? What are alternative solutions to obtaining PNT data?
Dr. Christopher Ekstrom, deputy oceanographer and navigator of the Navy, will address issues and approaches to providing PNT solutions in a GPS-denied environment as the keynote speaker at a one-day conference held by The Patuxent Partnership on February 5.
Ekstrom also serves as the technical director to the Oceanographer of the Navy. In previous assignments, he led the planning and programming activities across all areas of precise time generation and dissemination as well as astrometric products that support missions across the Department of Defense. He also led the development of advanced atomic clocks for the Department of Defense Master Clock. The resulting clocks, called rubidium atomic fountains, are the most stable continuously operating clocks in the world. Ekstrom holds a Ph.D. in experimental atomic physics from MIT and has received the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award, the AFCEA International and U.S. Naval Institute Copernicus Award, and the U.S. Naval Observatory Simon Newcomb Award.
Convening leaders, decision-makers, and subject-matter experts from government, industry, and academia, the PNT conference will take place February 5 from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center. Topics include PNT and the warfighter, positioning and navigation technology, timing and communication technology.
Registration is open online through noon February 4; walk-in registrations will be accepted as space is available. Cost to attend is $50 for TPP members or $90 for the general public. Federal civilian service employees and active duty military may attend at no cost.
For more information and to register for the conference, please visit www.paxpartnership.org.
Sponsorship opportunities are available.
Questions may be directed to Jen Brown, programs and membership director, at jennifer.brown@paxpartnership.org, (301) 866-1739 x318.
About The Patuxent Partnership
The Patuxent Partnership is a non-profit member organization that fosters collaboration between government, industry, and academia to advance education through STEM-based initiatives; to advance technology through speaker programs, forums, and networking; to advance science and technology transfer through the exchange of ideas, information, and data related to technologies; and to increase workforce development through an array of initiatives. For more information, please visit www.paxpartnership.org . For information about STEM academic initiatives, programs, and events in Southern Maryland, visit STEM-Link, www.stem-link.org .