Eberhardt Rechtin

An expert in systems architecture in the fields of electrical engineering, industrial & systems engineering, and aerospace engineering, Dr. Rechtin is the former President of The Aerospace Corporation, and professor emeritus from the University of Southern California. His principal technical contributions were in communications/noise theory applied to optimum linear circuits; architecting direction of NASA/JPL Deep Space Network (DSN) for communicating with, and navigation of, spacecraft exploring the solar system; and application of formal insights (heuristics) into architecting of complex systems. The DSN never failed a mission in more than 40 years of operation.

Dr. Rechtin contributed in national security communication networks and intelligence, managing ARPANET in its formative years (1967-70), in defense projects, and also served as the president who restructured Aerospace Corporation in the 1980's to support rapid expansion of national security space systems.

Besides serving in the US Naval Reserve, Dr. Rechtin's career took him from CalTech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, to Hewlett-Packard, to The Aerospace Corporation.

An IEEE Fellow, Dr. Rechtin received its Alexander Graham Bell Award, among a myriad of awards from the US government and other organizations such as INCOSE, CalTech, and NASA.