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 4: Patents -- Jack B. Kuipers

Box 3

Folder 6: "Method and Apparatus for Tracking Objects" --- 1976

Folder 7: 4,737,794 and 4,742,356 "Method and Apparatus for Determining Remote Object Orientation" --- 1988

Folder 8: 3,868,563 "Object Tracking and Orientation Determination Means" --- 1975

Folder 9

Item 1: 3,983,474 "Tracking and Determining Orientation of Object Using Coordinate Means" --- 1976
Item 2: 3,660,648 "Angular Rate Coordinate Transformer" --- 1972-1973
Item 3: 3,474,241 "Coordinate Transformer" --- 1966

Folder 10: 4,289,874 "Method and Apparatus for Tracking Objects" --- 1982

Folder 11: Held by Others on Positioning and Orientation Subjects --- 1994-2001

Folder 12: Comments on French Patents --- 1976

Folder 13: Owned by McDonnell Douglas Corporation --- undated

Folder 14: Assigned to Polemus Navigation Sciences Incorporated --- 1975-1977