Coherent Navigation develops services and solutions with our team of world-class engineers, harnessing our combined experience from precision navigation, differential GPS, hardware and software radio design, radio navigation, ionospheric physics, target tracking and sensor fusion, autonomous navigation and robotics, satellite mission operations and hardware development, and real-time embedded software development. We multiply our strength through long-lasting partnerships with industry leaders such as Boeing and Iridium, strong friendships with academic leaders at top-tier universities, and multi-branch relationships with many U.S. Department of Defense agencies.
Company Principals
William Bencze, PhD, CEO, Founder
Dr. Bencze received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1989, followed by a Ph.D. in 1996 with specializations in precision instrumentation and automatic control systems. Following graduation, he served a number of roles on the NASA/Stanford Gravity Probe B Relativity Mission (GP-B), a fundamental physics experiment in orbit designed to test Einstein’s theory of General Relativity to unprecedented precision. As part of GP-B he developed the flight electrostatic suspension systems for the mission’s electrostatically-suspended ultra-precise gyroscope sensors, served as the overall electronics systems manager for the GP-B spacecraft prior to launch, and Program Manager following launch during the mission operations data analysis phases of the mission. He is a co-inventor of the HIGPS technology and left Stanford University in 2008 to co-found Coherent Navigation to explore the technical potential and applications of HIGPS. Dr. Bencze technical expertise includes hybrid control systems, gravitational and inertial reference systems/inertial sensors, radio navigation and timing systems, and precision instrumentation systems for space borne and terrestrial high reliability applications.
Robert W. Brumley, PhD, COO
Robert has been leading teams in developing transformational cutting-edge precision systems for nearly 20 years. He received his B.S. in Physics, M.S. in Electrical Engineering, and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering degrees from Stanford University. While at Stanford, he served in various positions at NASA’s Gravity Probe B program, a space-based physics experiment that used cryogenic superconducting gyroscopes to test several key aspects of Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity. While at Gravity Probe B, he led the Gyroscope group, delivering a flight gyroscope with a drift rate 10 million times smaller than the best Earth-based gyroscopes. Later, he became Payload Manager, responsible for the integration and test of the science payload. Finally, he served as Deputy Program Manager, Technical, responsible for all operational and technical aspects of the program from spacecraft integration and test, launch, and initial on-orbit checkout.
In 2005 he became interested in the potential of augmenting the Global Positioning System with signals from low-earth orbiting (LEO) communication satellites, and moved to Boeing to help found the iGPS program there. While there, he founded the iGPS Integration and Tests group. He was also, along with other Coherent Navigation principals, an inventor on 8 GPS augmentation patents. In 2010 he jointed the team at Coherent Navigation dedicated to creating the next generation of navigation technology.
Brent Ledvina, PhD, VP Business Development, Founder
Dr. Ledvina received a B. S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1999 and a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University in 2003. He also holds an adjunct faculty position at Virginia Tech in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. As an academic, he developed the first publicly-acknowledged civil GPS spoofer. His research interests are in the areas of ionospheric physics, space weather, estimation and filtering, software-defined radios, and GNSS security. He has authored or co-authored 36 technical publications. He is listed as inventor or co-inventor on 16 pending and issued U.S. patents.
Brent spends his time leading internal and external technical programs at Coherent Navigation and carrying out business development activities.
Isaac Miller, PhD, VP Engineering
Dr. Miller received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University in 2009. He received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University in 2006 and his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 2003. He has worked at Coherent Navigation since 2009, where he currently serves as V.P. of Engineering, manager of the High-Integrity GPS (HIGPS) user equipment group, and lead algorithm developer and software architect for HIGPS user equipment. He has more than a decade of experience designing GPS and high-precision navigation algorithms and implementing them in real-time field applications. He is listed as inventor or co-inventor on 12 pending and issued U.S. patents, and he has authored or co-authored more than 25 technical publications. His technical interests include artificial intelligence, Bayesian estimation and Kalman filtering, computer vision, machine learning, probabilistic robotics, attitude and position estimation, GPS/GNSS, target tracking, celestial mechanics, control and dynamics, mechanical vibrations, and dynamic modeling and simulation. Dr. Miller’s past work includes design and implementation of localization and perception algorithms for Cornell University’s 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge robot and 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge robot.