Dr Rolf Johannessen FRIN

We have received the sad news that Dr Rolf Johannessen died in September at the age of 83.

His navigation interests were focused mainly on technical developments in radio navigation technology.  He invented the Radio Lighthouse, which was patented and built by STL.  But, after deployment in several countries, the Radio Lighthouse, like many other systems, was overtaken by GPS.  So Rolf embraced GPS and became one of UK’s leading authorities on its implementation within maritime and aviation communities.

Much of his working life was based at STL, Harlow, where he was part of the team that created UK’s first military-grade GPS receivers and anti-jam antennas.  He led the navigation function at STL for some years, supporting customers in understanding the benefits of using GPS, whilst keeping a watchful eye on its vulnerabilities.  His team developed RAIM techniques and sophisticated modelling tools that supported civil aviation use of GPS, GNSS and augmentation systems.

He joined the Institute in 1967, becoming a Fellow in 1980 and receiving the Michael Richey Medal in 1993.  He authored many learned papers and guidance material on radio navigation and GPS for our conferences and the Journal, as well as for the US ION and other international fora.

We pass our condolences to Rolf’s family.