Our planet may seem like a big round ball. But it’s not. “The Earth is not round,” said Dr. Gladys West. “And we had to figure out the shape precisely,” she explained.
As a mathematician, West worked to study the shape of the world. She wrote a computer program to calculate it with great detail. And her hard work shaped world history. West helped lead the way for the Global Positioning System (GPS). That’s the technology behind navigational tools in smartphones, cars, and ships. Many people call her the “Founding Mother of the GPS.”
West was born in Sutherland, Virginia, on October 27, 1930. She grew up working on her family’s farm. But she used the power of education to become a . West finished first in her high school, then studied mathematics at Virginia State College (now Virginia State University). That was the first historically Black college or university in Virginia.
West spent several years teaching math and science at schools in Virginia. At the time, Black students and white students could not be in the same classrooms. So, West taught in schools. After that, West began her historic career as a mathematician.
The U.S. Naval Proving Ground hired West in 1956. She became just the second Black woman to work at the weapons laboratory in Dahlgren, Virginia. That is also where she met Ira V. West, who became her husband in 1957.
Dr. D. Sarah Stamps teaches at Virginia Tech University. She uses GPS technology to measure the surface of the Earth. “My entire career is built off of Dr. West’s work,” said Stamps. “That’s why she is a hero of mine.”
West had to solve difficult mathematics problems during the mid-1900s. “Back in those days, we didn’t have computers,” Stamps told News-O-Matic. “So, she herself was the computer,” said Stamps. And West’s work led to advances in technology.
In 1978 West became a manager of Seasat. That U.S. studied the oceans from space — including the waves, water temperature, and winds. West later developed a computer program for a satellite called Geosat. That allowed people to create a model for the exact shape of the Earth — a geoid. As a result, the GPS system became a very accurate tool for maps.
West in 1998 after 42 years in Dahlgren. However, she was not done learning. She completed a doctorate at Virginia Tech in 2000.
Despite her important work, West was a hidden figure — as many people did not know about her. That has begun to change. In 2018, Gladys B. West joined the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame. She is the only Black woman honored in that way.
The National Center of Women’s Innovations is helping to share West’s story. It is opening an in Alexandria, Virginia, in March 2025.
By Russell Kahn (Russ)
Updated February 11, 2025, 5:00 P.M. (ET)
