Roy Anderson majored in math and physics at Augustana College. He graduated during WWII, and began teaching physics at the Army Air Core College Training Program. After teaching for a year he enlisted in the Navy, which sent him to Bowdoin College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study radar. With this training he served as an electronics officer about the USS Shelikof. After the war, Anderson returned to teaching for a year, then got a job with General Electric in the Corporate Research and Development Center. He worked there until his retirement in 1983. After his retirement he founded Mobile Satellite Corporation (Mobilsat), one of the early companies to develop satellite communications. In 1988 Mobilsat merged with 12 other companies to form the American Mobile Satellite Corporation, where Anderson was a consultant until 1991. Much of Roy Anderson's work followed his training in radar and his lifelong interest in ham radio. He helped pioneer the methods of satellite positioning and navigation, leading to the modern GPS technology. He produced 125 articles and held 22 patents. He received a Ralph J. Cordiner Award and a Coolidge Fellowship from GE. He was a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; the Institute of Navigation; the American Association for the Advancement of Science; and the Radio Club of America. He also served a term as board president and was a trustee emeritus of Dudley Observatory.