Our planet may seem like a big round ball from space. 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, Dr. West worked to study the shape of the world. She developed an early 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 (as Gladys Mae Brown) in Sutherland, Virginia, on October 27, 1930. She grew up working on her family’s farm, but she used the power of education to form her own path in life. West finished first in her high school, then studied mathematics at Virginia State College (now called Virginia State University). That was the first historically Black college or university in the commonwealth of Virginia.
West spent several years teaching math and science at schools in Sussex County and Martinsville, Virginia. At the time, Black students and white students in Virginia were not allowed to 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 fourth Black person — and the second Black woman — to work at the navy weapons laboratory in Dahlgren, Virginia. That is also where she met fellow mathematician Ira V. West, who became her husband in 1957.
Dr. D. Sarah Stamps is a professor of geophysics at Virginia Tech University. She uses GPS technology to measure how the surface of the Earth moves — down to the millimeter. “Essentially, 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 — and she did them quickly and accurately. “Back in those days, we didn’t have computers,” Stamps told News-O-Matic. “So, she herself was the computer,” said Stamps. “She was considered a calculator.” And West’s work in math led to important advances in technology.
In 1978 West became a project manager of Seasat. That was a U.S. that studied the oceans from space — including the size of waves and icebergs, the temperature of the water, and the speed and direction of winds. West continued her work into the 1980s, developing a computer program for a satellite named Geosat. Her program (which considered forces like gravity and tides on the planet’s surface) allowed people to create a model for the exact shape of the Earth — called a geoid. As a result, the GPS system was able to become a very accurate tool for maps in the future.
West in 1998 after working for 42 years in Dahlgren. However, she was not done learning. In 2000 (at the age of 70), she completed a doctorate in public administration at Virginia Tech.
Despite her incredible career, Dr. West remained a hidden figure — as many people did not know about her work. That has begun to change in the past few years. In 2018, Gladys B. West was inducted into the United States Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame in the Pentagon. She is the only Black woman in history ever to be honored in that Hall of Fame.
The National Center of Women’s Innovations is also working to share her story. It is opening an about Gladys West in Alexandria, Virginia, for Women’s History Month in 2025.
By Russell Kahn (Russ)
Updated February 11, 2025, 5:00 P.M. (ET)
