Northrop Grumman's Family of Fiber-Optic Based Inertial Navigation ...

Dr. Charles Volk
Vice President and Chief Technologist
Dr. Charles Volk is the Vice President and Chief Technologist for Northrop Grumman’s
Navigation Systems Division (NSD) in Woodland Hills, California. Dr. Volk
joined Litton Industries’ Guidance and Control Systems Division (GCS) in 1977 after
earning his undergraduate degree in physics from Lake Forest College and a PhD in
Physics from Indiana University. His initial work involved the development of a nuclear
magnetic resonance gyroscope, which was a practical extension of his doctoral thesis in atomic physics. In
1980 Dr. Volk joined the Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo, California and worked on refi nement of
atomic clocks for GPS and MILSTAR programs. In 1984 he returned to Litton GCS assuming increasing
levels of responsibility, and was named Vice President of Engineering in 1999. When Northrop Grumman
acquired Litton Industries in 2001, Dr. Volk became the Vice President of Engineering and Manufacturing
for the Western Region of Northrop Grumman’s Electronic Systems Sector. He was appointed Chief
Technologist for Navigation Systems Division in 2003 to allow him to focus on technology.
Jonathan Lincoln
Manager, Systems Analysis Department
Jonathan Lincoln is a senior systems engineer with Northrop Grumman NSD in Woodland
Hills, California. He has been with NSD since 1983, primarily responsible for
the software and system development of state-of-the-art GPS aided FOG/RLG-based
inertial navigation systems. He was the lead system engineer on the GGP program, the
fi rst high-accuracy FOG inertial navigation system, and is the author of a number of
patents and papers. Most recently, he has worked on integrating the StarFire TM differential GPS receiver
with the LN-251 and making improvements to the integrated INS/GPS performance to meet high-accuracy
velocity requirements. He received his BS in Math/Computer Science from UCLA and his MSEE
from California State University, Northridge.
Daniel Tazartes
Director, Advanced Technology
With NSD since 1984, Daniel Tazartes has developed several generations of navigation
systems. His expertise includes strapdown, inertial, and aided navigation solutions.
He was instrumental in the successful development of ring laser and fi ber optic gyro
navigation systems. He holds more than 50 patents and has published numerous papers
in navigation, inertial instruments, and signal processing technologies. In 2002, he received
the Institute of Navigation’s Weems Award for continuing contributions to the art and science of
navigation. Currently he is responsible for developing new technologies, products, and solutions responsive
to NSD’s customers.
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