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 3: SPASYN Research

Box 2

Folder 17: "The SPASYN" --- 1976
Folder 18: "The SPASYN Technology" --- undated
Folder 19: "Twoway-A System for Cooperatively Determining Relative Position and Orientation between 2 Objects SPASYN-Mathematical Aspects" --- 1975
Folder 20: "An Electromagnetic Relative Position and Orientation Measurement System", "The SPASYN Technology" --- 1978
Folder 21: "An Electromagnetic Reactive Position and Orientation Tracking System"
Folder 22: "A Magnetic Position and Orientation Measurement System" --- 1978
Folder 23: Papers describing use of Quaternions in SPASYN Processing --- 1981
Folder 24: "The Twoway System and Processes, Near and Far-Field Strategies" --- 2001

Box 3

Folder 1: "A New Transducing Technique for Visually Coupled Control Systems" --- undated
Folder 2: "A Simplified Explanation" --- undated
Folder 3: "Twoway Processors Using Quaternions" --- 1984
Folder 4: "Recollections and Perspectives on SPASYN Technology" --- 1994
Folder 5: "A Simplified Explanation of SPASYN" --- 2000