C. Donald Bateman invented the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS), one of a series of innovations he developed to dramatically improve aircraft safety.

Tragic airline crashes during the 1960s prompted airline owners to reduce crashes caused when pilots fail to recognize that they are flying too low or approaching a mountain. Bateman responded with a device that automatically warned pilots if their aircraft was approaching the ground or water. The system worked so well that the Federal Aviation Administration began requiring GPWS in aircraft in 1973.

As technology improved, Bateman and his team of developers created a series of advances that made their warning systems more effective and reliable. They added more sophisticated ways of determining the distance from the aircraft to threatening terrain, provided wind shear warnings, integrated other avionics systems, and included computerized colored pictures of topographical data. His innovations to the landing system, specifically the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System, continue to advance safety within the aviation industry.

Born in 1932, Saskatchewan, Canada, Bateman studied at the University of Saskatchewan, where he received his degree in electrical engineering. He continues to work on EGPWS at Honeywell.

Matthias Baldwin
C. Donald Bateman
Clarence Birdseye
Leopold Godowsky, Jr.
Robert Gundlach
Alec Jeffreys
Dean Kamen
Leopold Mannes
Garrett Augustus Morgan
Les Paul
Jacob Rabinow
Glenn T. Seaborg
Leo Henryk Sternbach
Selman Waksman