Today the 2019 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering (QEPrize) is awarded to 
four engineers responsible for the creation of the first truly global, 
satellite-based positioning system (GPS). The QEPrize is the world's most 
prestigious engineering accolade, a £1 million prize that celebrates the 
immense daily impact that engineering innovation has on the lives of billions 
globally.

     (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/820872/QEP_2019_Winners.jpg )

In the presence of HRH The Princess Royal at the Royal Academy of Engineering, 
Dr Bradford Parkinson, Professor James Spilker, Jr, Hugo Fruehauf, and Richard 
Schwartz were announced as the 2019 winners by Lord Browne of Madingley, Chair 
of Trustees for the QEPrize.

The development of GPS has fundamentally transformed nearly all elements of 
global society and is regarded as one of the most pioneering inventions of 
modern times. Today, an estimated four billion people around the world benefit 
from its free, accurate, and instant position and timing information. Its 
applications range from navigation and disaster relief through to climate 
monitoring systems, banking systems, and the foundation of tomorrow's 
transport, agriculture, and industry.

The winners, building upon a set of novel technologies, integrated highly 
stable compact atomic clocks with what is now the GPS civil signal. This 
integration allows receivers to determine their position through trilateration 
- measuring the distances to multiple satellites simultaneously. The innovation 
was realised with a robust, long-lasting satellite design that resists the 
intense radiation from the upper Van Allen belt.

Lord Browne said: "The 2019 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering has been 
awarded to the four engineers who gave billions of people around the world free 
access to accurate and immediate position and timing information. It is our 
hope that the revolutionary work of Dr Parkinson, Professor Spilker, Hugo 
Fruehauf, and Richard Schwartz - which epitomises the engineering excellence 
that the QEPrize both recognises and celebrates - inspires the next generation 
of engineers to take up the challenges of the future."

Professor Sir Christopher Snowden, Chair of the Judging Panel, said: "The 
global positioning system provides an outstanding example of engineering's 
profound impact on society. It epitomises what the QEPrize stands for; starting 
with an almost impossible challenge, GPS is now universally accessible and 
benefits billions of people around the world each day. Over time its varied 
applications have profoundly transformed how society operates, and its impact 
will only continue to grow. This is exactly the type of groundbreaking 
engineering achievement that inspires young people to become tomorrow's 
engineers."

The four winners will be formally honoured at a ceremony later this year; they 
will receive the GBP1 million prize and an iconic trophy designed by the 2019 
Create the Trophy competition winner, 16-year-old Jack Jiang from Hong Kong. 

Contacts: Olivia Eckersley, +44(0)7795-815973, Olivia.eckersley@edelman.com    

SOURCE: Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering