Draft:Len Jacobson
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Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest guideline, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. Ljatgsam (talk) 01:25, 16 July 2026 (UTC)
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Len Jacobson (born Leonard Jacobson) is an American satellite navigation engineer, business executive, and consultant who spent more than 45 years in the defense electronics and GPS/GNSS industries. He is known professionally as Len Jacobson.
Early life and education
[edit]Jacobson received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the City College of New York (CCNY) in 1963 and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute in 1966. He later completed post-graduate coursework at UCLA and the Stanford Executive Institute.
Career
[edit]Jacobson began his career at ITT (1963–1966) in systems and data transmission engineering, followed by Hughes Aircraft Company in El Segundo, California (1966–1968), where he worked on military satellite communications and navigation.
From 1968 to 1983, Jacobson worked at Magnavox Research Laboratory (later Raytheon), where he contributed to development of the X-set, Y-set, and Z-set user equipment for the U.S. Air Force's Project 621B, the precursor to the Global Positioning System (GPS). He was present at the 621B Inverted Range Experiment at Holloman Air Force Base, a key test in GPS's development, and worked on the Z-set, which is considered among the first civil GPS receivers.
From 1984 to 1993, he served as Vice President of Business Development at Interstate Electronics Corporation (later L-3 Communications), and participated in the NATO Industrial Advisory Group and the Defense Science Board.
In 1993, Jacobson founded Global Systems and Marketing Inc. (GSAM), an international GPS marketing and consulting firm based in Long Beach, California, where he served as President for approximately 20 years. Clients included Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and the Center for Remote Sensing Inc.
Professional activities
[edit]Jacobson served as Western Region Vice President of the Institute of Navigation (ION) and chaired multiple ION conferences. He taught courses on GPS at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at California State University, Long Beach. He is a Life Member of IEEE and the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA).
He has served as an expert witness in GPS-related patent, accident, parolee-tracking, and Y2K legal cases.
Media appearances
[edit]Jacobson appeared on CBS's 60 Minutes in a segment interviewed by Morley Safer, broadcast around the 1993–94 New Year.
Publications
[edit]Jacobson authored a book on GPS published by Artech House and co-authored chapters in two GPS reference texts. He also self-published a memoir, Flying for GPS.
References
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