Bio
BioAlexander Kossiakoff was the fourth director of APL, serving from 1969 to 1980.
Kossiakoff began his career at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory, where he worked for Ralph Gibson, who would later become APL’s third director. He joined the Laboratory in 1946 and later became deputy director before being named director.
Kossiakoff’s work helped establish APL’s leadership in the emerging field of missile technology. In response to a stubborn problem with the Terrier missile, he proposed a novel approach that greatly advanced missile development and earned him the Navy’s Distinguished Public Service Award. With his personal technical involvement, APL developed the AN/SYS-1 integrated, automatic radar detection and tracking system, which was designed to distinguish and maintain computer-generated tracking of aircraft in natural clutter and adversary jamming environments. Under his leadership, APL also played a key role in the successful test of the Aegis Weapon System on USS Norton Sound.
While director, Kossiakoff sought to expand the Lab’s sponsor base. He was especially interested in physics and ocean chemistry, which were essential to undersea warfare technology programs. He allocated significant resources to instrument design, at-sea tests, and analysis of vast amounts of oceanographic data. The work was advanced by new microprocessors—a technology championed by Kossiakoff.
During Kossiakoff’s tenure, APL’s space research continued to grow. The Laboratory launched satellites to conduct advanced geodetic research that provided the first X-ray and gamma-ray surveys of the sky from space and the first detailed survey of Earth’s magnetic field. The two Voyager spacecraft, launched in 1977 and carrying APL energetic-particle detectors on their mission to the outer planets, became the first spacecraft to leave our solar system and are still sending back data today.
After leaving APL, Kossiakoff served as the Lab’s chief scientist, concentrating on graduate-level education in the Johns Hopkins University’s part-time engineering program at APL. In addition to writing a seminal systems engineering textbook, he created master’s degree programs in technical management and systems engineering.
Kossiakoff earned his degrees in physical chemistry from the California Institute of Technology and Johns Hopkins University.
