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Dr. Gladys West, whose mathematical models inspired GPS, dies at 95

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Leading mathematician Dr Gladys West has died at the age of 95. His name may not be familiar to you, but his contributions certainly are; West’s work laid the foundation for the Global Positioning System. As you know from experience, GPS is now an essential component of industries ranging from aviation and emergency response, as well as ensuring you arrive on time to a dinner date or job interview.

West was born in 1930 in Virginia. Despite the oppression of Jim Crow laws in the South, she was able to pursue higher education at Virginia State College (now called Virginia State University), earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics. In 1956, West was hired at what is now called the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, VA. His focus during the 1970s and 1980s was on creating accurate models of the Earth’s shape based on satellite data, a complex task that required the kind of mathematical gymnastics that would make the average person dizzy. Those models later became the backbone for GPS. West worked at the Dahlgren Center for 42 years and retired in 1998.

As is the case with many women, especially women of color, behind technology and science breakthroughs in America, West’s work remained largely unrecognized for decades. After presenting a brief biography of her accomplishments at a sorority ceremony in 2018, members of Alpha Kappa Alpha helped West receive belated recognition for her contributions. She was inducted into the U.S. Air Force Space and Missiles Pioneers Hall of Fame and honored as Female Alumnus of the Year by the Historically Black Colleges & Universities Awards the same year. Guardian published an interview with West in 2020, sharing some insights on her trip, including a note that when West was out, she preferred paper maps rather than the technology she indirectly helped create.



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