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Tabaczynski receives the 2012 Jamieson Award

John A. Tabaczynski of MIT's Lincoln Laboratory honored for his leadership in ballistic missile defense.
Gerald Augeri (left), assistant head of the Air and Missile Defense Technology Division at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and chairperson the 2012 Military Sensing Symposium, presented John Tabaczynski with the 2012 Jamieson Award.
Caption:
Gerald Augeri (left), assistant head of the Air and Missile Defense Technology Division at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and chairperson the 2012 Military Sensing Symposium, presented John Tabaczynski with the 2012 Jamieson Award.
Credits:
Photo courtesy of the Lincoln Laboratory

John A. Tabaczynski, a principal researcher in the Air and Missile Defense Technology division at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, was named a recipient of the 2012 Jamieson Award.

This award is presented at the Military Sensing Symposia on Missile Defense Sensors, Environments, and Algorithms (MD-SEA) to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the MD-SEA technical community. At the 2012 symposium in October, Tabaczynski was presented this award in recognition of his "vital leadership and outstanding contributions to Ballistic Missile Defense Programs."

The award was established to honor the late John A. Jamieson, who performed influential work on passive infrared programs for missile defense. Jamieson also led the Independent Science and Engineering Group (ISEG), a high-level review panel that reported to the director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA).

At the award presentation Tabaczynski said, "This award means a great deal to me. Early in my career, when I was a group leader, I had the challenging task of briefing the ISEG a number of times. The group was a rigorous bunch who left no technical stone unturned. It was always a challenge to be well enough prepared to handle the group's queries. After John [Jamieson] passed away, the group was reorganized under the leadership of General Garry Schnelzer, and I had the distinct privilege of becoming a member of the ISEG."

Tabaczynski holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from MIT, and a master's and PhD degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University. Since his first job at Lincoln Laboratory as a summer intern in 1962, Tabaczynski has served as a member of the technical staff, a group leader and an associate head of the Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Technology Division.

In 2004, he was appointed one of the laboratory's first principal researchers. His professional interests have focused on advanced radar technology, and the application of estimation, target tracking, discrimination, multisensor fusion, and the decision support process to advanced radar systems. During the late 1980s and early '90s, he was responsible for managing the laboratory's program at the Kwajalein Missile Range in the Marshall Islands.

Tabaczynski has participated in most of the major BMD studies over the past several decades. He was instrumental in the acceptance of the X-band family of radars concept during the mid-1980s, and was a member of the Theater (now Terminal) High-Altitude Area Defense radar specification definition team. In 2000, he worked with the MDA to initiate Project Hercules, a BMD community-wide effort to develop advanced algorithms for tracking, discrimination, decision making and control of the BMD system sensor suite. He also co-led the BMD study that shaped the MDA's Radar System Technology Program and led to its Next Generation radar project. Under this program, Lincoln Laboratory's seminal work in the coherent combination of separate apertures now serves as the foundation for its leading-edge work in over-the-horizon radar.

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