Quick Facts
GeminiBiography
John L. Junkins is a Distinguished Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University specializing in spacecraft navigation, guidance, dynamics and control.He holds the Royce E. Wisenbaker Endowed Chair at Texas A&M University and also serves as the founding Director of the Texas A&M University Institute for Advanced Study.
Biography
John L. Junkins is a professor, inventor and aerospace engineer.Junkins was born in Oakman, Georgia May 23, 1943. Junkins professional history has seen him working in government (NASA), industry, and academia over a five decade career. Junkins' scholarship is documented in over 400 professional publications, including seven texts, 220 archival papers and several patents. His work has supported numerous spaceflight missions including the final three Apollo missions and his inventions have led to commercial products including navigation sensors for autonomous aerial refueling of aircraft, and for pointing navigation of spacecraft based on star pattern recognition.He also patented an early electronic whiteboard in 1994 for use in computer conferencing and academic classrooms.He has directed over 120 graduate students, including 47 (as of March, 2012) who completed their PhD under his direction; his former students have given rise to three generations of PhD descendants.
Junkins is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the International Academy of Astronautics and an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Education
- 1965 Bachelor of Science, Aerospace Engineering, Auburn University, Alabama
- 1967 Master of Science, University of California, Los Angeles
- 1969 Doctor of Philosophy, University of California, Los Angeles
Career chronology
- 1970–1977, University of Virginia
- 1978–1985, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- 1985 – present, Texas A&M University
Awards and honors
- 1983 Mechanics & Control of Flight Award, AIAA
- 1987 Dirk Brouwer Award, AAS
- 1988 J. Leland Atwood Award, AIAA
- 1990 Pendray Aerospace Literature Award, AIAA
- 1997 von Karman Lectureship in Astronautics Award, AIAA
- 1999 Frank J. Malina Astronautics Medal, IAF
- 2003 Tycho Brahe Award, ION
- 2006 Aerospace Guidance, Navigation, and Control Award, AIAA
- 2011 Life-Time Achievement Medal, ICCES
- 2019 Robert H. Goddard Astronautics Award, AIAA
Works
- Junkins, John L. (1978). An Introduction to Optimal Estimation of Dynamical Systems. Leyden, The Netherlands: Sijthoff-Noordhoff. ISBN 90-286-0067-1.
- Junkins, John L.; Turner, James D. (1986). Optimal Spacecraft Rotational Maneuvers. New York, NY: Elsevier. ISBN 0-444-42619-1.
- Junkins, John L.; Kim, Youdan (1993). Introduction to Dynamics and Control of Flexible Structures. New York, NY: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. ISBN 1-56347-054-3.
- Schaub, Hanspeter; Junkins, John L. (2009). Analytical Mechanics of Space Systems, Second Edition. New York, NY: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. ISBN 978-1-60086-722-4.
- Puneet, Singla; Junkins, John L. (2009). Multi-resolution Methods for Modeling and Control of Dynamical Systems,. New York, NY: CRC Press - Taylor and Francis. ISBN 978-1-58488-769-0.
- Crassidis, John L.; Junkins, John L. (2011). Optimal Estimation of Dynamic Systems,Second Edition. New York, NY: CRC Press - Taylor and Francis. ISBN 978-1-4398-3985-0.
- Junkins, John L. (2012). Engineering Your Academic Career. Raleigh, N.C.: lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-105-31585-5.