Jack B. Kuipers Collection, 1953-2006 | Heritage Hall, Hekman Library

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Collection Overview

Title: Jack B. Kuipers Collection, 1953-2006

ID: COLL/160

Primary Creator: Jack B. Kuipers (1921-)

Extent: 12.0 Boxes

Arrangement: Folder level description

Abstract

Professor of mathematics at Calvin College and pioneer in virtual reality technology. The collection details applied aerospace dynamics, conventional matrix methods, and quaternion algebra; “SPASYN” (a patented space synchronizer); and other patented products. The collection includes correspondence, reports, papers, articles, Quaternions and Rotation Sequences: A Primer with Applications book chapter drafts, patent materials, book reviews, presentation photo slides, and biographical information.

Biographical Note

A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Jack B. Kuipers (1921- ) was the oldest of eight children born to Berend and Grace (née Werkeman) Kuipers. He majored in mathematics and physics at Calvin College and earned a BS in electrical engineering and MS in automatic control engineering from the University of Michigan, and studied radar technology at MIT and Harvard University.

He served with the US Army Signal Corps during WW II and worked for various contractors in the aerospace industry during the 1950s and on the staff of the University of Michigan in the 1960s teaching courses in control and information theory. He joined the faculty of Calvin College Mathematics Department in 1967 and was appointed professor emeritus at Calvin in 1986.

The focus of his research has been on guidance systems, particularly SPASYN (an acronym for space synchronizer) which used radio signals to determine the relationship between two objects moving through three-dimensional space. This technology has been adapted to guidance and targeting systems, air traffic control, and virtual reality. He authored Quaternions and Rotation Sequences: A Primer with Applications to Orbits, Aerospace, and Virtual Reality that has gone through many printings and became the standard reference for aerospace engineering.

He also consulted for numerous companies. For his work, Kuipers earned eight patents in the United States and nine in other countries. In 2002, he was named a distinguished alumnus by Calvin College.

Kuipers married Lois Belle Holtrop (1925- ), the daughter of Corneal and Jennie (née Kruizenga) Holtrop. They have five children: Benjamin, Emily, Joel, Alison, and Lynne.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Personal],
[Series 2: Papers by Jack B. Kuipers],
[Series 3: SPASYN Research],
[Series 4: Patents -- Jack B. Kuipers],
[Series 5: Patents-Other],
[Series 6: Consulting Projects],
[Series 7: Research Material],
[Series 8: Patent Law Suits],
[Series 9: Presentations],
[Series 10: Miscellaneous],
[Series 11: Papers],
[All]

Series 6: Consulting Projects

Box 4

Folder 1: Engineering Reports for Lear Incorporated --- 1953, 1957
Folder 2: Gyro Calculations --- 1954
Folder 3: Celestrial Mechanics Calculations --- 1957
Folder 4: Lear Co. Report "Switching Rate Gyro" --- 1957
Folder 5: All Attitude Autopilot --- 1957
Folder 6: Calculations and Reports for Lear Corporation --- 1957-1958
Folder 7: Course Book Dynamics Offlight --- 1959
Folder 8: Calculations for Unspecified Projects --- 1959
Folder 9: B-70 Brake System Project --- 1959-1961
Folder 10: B-70 Brake System Analysis --- 1960

Box 5

Folder 1: Calculations for Accelerometer Development --- 1967
Folder 2: "Calculations for B-70 Brake System Project" --- 1961
Folder 3: Memorandum: "Three Degree-of-Freedom Point Mass Analytical Model" (University of Michigan) --- 1964
Folder 4: "Improved Aero IA AMCS-Vertical Gyro Reference System" --- 1967
Folder 5: Sub-Contracts with Nortronics Corporations --- 1969
Folder 6: Consulting Services Agreement and Reports for Jet Electronics and Technology Incorporated --- 1973
Folder 7: "An Electromagnetic Position Sensor" (Air Force Avionics Laboratory) --- 1973
Folder 8: Work for Austin Company --- 1976
Folder 9: Honeywell/Advance Technology Systems Brochure: "A.F. Magnetic Helmet Mounted Sight System" --- 1979
Folder 10: Request for Proposal for "Quaternion Transforming Processing" (Macaulay-Brown Company) --- 1985
Folder 11: Proposal to Air Force on Characterization and Application of Quaternions for Enhanced Computer Processing --- 1988
Folder 12: Invoices for Research and Consultant Work --- 1989-1991
Folder 13: "Position and Orientation Measurement System" --- 1991-1992
Folder 14: Disclosure Drafts on the Gaertner Position --- 1992
Folder 15: Consulting Agreements between J.B.K. and Calvin College --- 2000-2001