Stefan Schaer

University of Bern, Federal Office of Topography swisstopo

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About

Stefan Schaer is a leading figure in satellite geodesy, renowned for his precision work in Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and terrestrial reference frames. His research focuses on the critical calibration of satellite and receiver antenna patterns, which directly impacts the accuracy of positioning, navigation, and timing worldwide. Schaer’s major contributions include pioneering methods for GNSS scale determination—a fundamental parameter for defining the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF). His 2020 paper on scale determination using calibrated receiver and Galileo satellite antenna patterns (41 citations) advanced the precision of the ITRF, while his 2010 work on improved antenna phase center models for GLONASS (38 citations) set new standards for Russian satellite system accuracy. These studies have been instrumental in reducing systematic errors in global geodetic networks, influencing everything from sea-level monitoring to earthquake deformation studies. Schaer’s meticulous calibrations and models are now integral to operational GNSS processing, making him a key architect of the millimeter-level geodetic infrastructure that underpins modern Earth science.