Dr. Gladys West Just Passed Away — The Black Pioneer Behind GPS Technology

Описание: Dr. Gladys West, a pioneering Black American mathematician whose work laid the foundation for the Global Positioning System (GPS), passed away peacefully at her Virginia home on Saturday, January 17, 2026, at the age of 95, surrounded by family and friends. Born Gladys Mae Brown on October 27, 1930, in Sutherland, Virginia, she grew up in the segregated Jim Crow South, helping on her family’s tobacco farm in Dinwiddie County. Despite systemic barriers, she excelled academically, graduating as her high school’s valedictorian. Her outstanding achievements earned her a scholarship to Virginia State College (now Virginia State University), a historically Black university, where she earned both her bachelor’s (1952) and master’s (1955) degrees in mathematics.

In 1956, West became a mathematician at the Naval Proving Ground in Dahlgren, Virginia (now the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division), becoming only the second Black woman and fourth Black employee hired at the facility. There, she met fellow mathematician Ira West, whom she married in 1957. Over the next four decades, Dr. West performed complex mathematical calculations and programmed computers to process satellite data. Her most notable work came in the 1970s and 1980s, when she developed highly accurate models of Earth’s shape—the geoid—using satellite data. These models became essential for satellite-based navigation systems that evolved into the GPS technology billions rely on today. Historical accounts note that she programmed the IBM 7030 Stretch computer to achieve increasingly precise calculations for an accurate geodetic Earth model, the backbone of modern GPS.

Dr. West retired in 1998 after 42 years of dedicated service and earned a PhD in public administration from Virginia Tech in 2000. Despite her groundbreaking work, she remained largely unknown for decades, a common experience for many Black women in STEM. Public recognition finally arrived in 2018 when a biography she submitted for an Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority event brought her story to light. That same year, she was inducted into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame, one of the Air Force’s highest honors, and later received awards including Female Alumna of the Year from HBCU Awards. In a 2025 interview, she reflected: “It never gets too old. I am just so pleased that I was able to make a contribution. When I was working, I never imagined that the GPS would be used in the civilian world. I love seeing all the ways that it can be used.”

Ironically, despite building the mathematical foundation for GPS, Dr. West preferred navigating with paper maps. She is survived by her three children and seven grandchildren. Her husband, Ira West, passed away in 2024. Dr. Gladys West’s life stands as a testament to brilliance, perseverance, and the countless contributions of Black women whose work has shaped modern technology—often without recognition until far too late.

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