PEOPLE: Women’s History Month 2023 honors and celebrates the life of Gladys West the mathematician and educator who brought GPS to the world
AGN.News Team
March 16, 2023
WASHINGTON (AGN.News) – Women’s History Month 2023 pays special tribute to Gladys Mae West who devoted her entire life to improving the lives of every American. She spent a lifetime in service to America. She unselfishly worked to make a difference in service to the nation.
Women’s History Month 2023 celebrates the life, education, and accomplishments of Dr. Gladys Mae West, the mathematician and educator who brought GPS to America and the world.
Gladys West’s life and education
Gladys Mae West (born 1930) was born in rural Sutherland, Virginia into a community of farmers and sharecroppers. Seeing so many Black laborers, factory workers and farmers struggling to care for their families led West to view education as the key to unlock the door of opportunity to a better life and future.
Her family could not earn enough to pay for college, so she studied hard and earned two scholarships. At her high school, the top two students of each graduating class received full scholarships to Virginia State College (now University), a Historically Black College and University.
West graduated as valedictorian in 1948, and received another scholarship. Now was the time to select a college major. She choose mathematics. West graduated in 1952 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics.
West used her degree to start a two year teaching career in science and mathematics in Waverly, Virginia. This was just the beginning. West viewed this as a stepping stone towards a more challenging future career.
Gladys West went back to Virginia State University (VSU) to complete her Master of Mathematics degree, graduating in 1955.
As a well-qualified master educator, Gladys West briefly took another teaching job before moving on to what she wanted most, a permanent job doing what she loved most of all, mathematics.
Gladys Mae West career choices
In 1956, Gladys West was hired to work at what is called today, the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) in Dahlgren, Virginia.
At the NSWCDD, Gladys West was the second Black woman ever hired and one of only four Black employees to work at NSWCDD at the time.
She was first a programmer at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) for large-scale computers. Next she was a project manager for data-processing systems used in the analysis of satellite data.
During this time West continued her passion for learning by earning a second master’s degree in public administration from the University of Oklahoma.
Gladys West and GPS contributions
Her work with satellite data and satellite altimeters led to West becoming project manager for the Seasat radar altimetry project, the first satellite that could remotely sense oceans.
As an exemplary team, leader, West put in a lot of overtime and cut in half her team’s processing time. In 1979, West was recommended for a commendation for her personal efforts.
West needed to generate an extremely accurate geopotential model which required her to employ complex algorithms. West was able to solve some very complex mathematics and scientific problems that were too difficult for others on her team to solve. West was an expert in satellite geodesy.
The geopotential model West created ultimately led to the basis for the Global Positioning System (GPS). West worked at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division for 42 years, retiring in 1998.
West always stressed the need for education and its role in improving the lives of those who valued it. After retiring she completed a PhD in public administration from Virginia Tech via a distance-learning program.
Gladys West’s Life and Legacy
Her contributions to GPS technology led Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) to recognize West for her contributions to GPS technology. The Air Force Space Command inducted West into the United States Air Force Hall of Fame in 2018. Dr. West was referred to as one of the Hidden Figures in a press release at the time.
In 2018, the commanding officer of the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, Captain Godfrey Weekes, said, “She rose through the ranks, worked on satellite geodesy, and contributed to the accuracy of GPS and the measurement of satellite data.”
He added, “As Gladys West started her career as a mathematician at Dahlgren in 1956, she likely had no idea that her work would impact the world for decades to come.”
West responded by saying, “When you’re working every day, you’re not thinking, ‘What impact is this going to have on the world? You’re thinking, I’ve got to get this right.”
Gladys Mae West awarded by many
Dr. Gladys West was awarded the Webby Lifetime Achievement Award, which is presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, at the 25th Annual Webby Awards for her role in the development of the satellite geodesy models.
Dr. Gladys West was nominated and won the award for “Female Alumna of the Year” at the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Awards sponsored by HBCU Digest in 2018.
The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) selected West as part of their 100 Women of 2018. In 2021, West was awarded the Prince Philip Medal by the United Kingdom’s Royal Academy of Engineering, this is their highest individual honor.
Dr. Gladys West and her husband Ira West (married in 1957) were two of only four employees at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division where they met and were married in 1957.
How can we honor Dr. Gladys West?
The next time you perform an online search for a location, a store, business, or an address you can thank Dr. Gladys West. The next time you use a map on a mobile device, and watch as the device guides you to your destination and hear it say – “Your destination is on the …” – thank Dr. Gladys West.
Dr. Gladys West was the lone person who guided and spearheaded the team who got it done right so that we can get to the right location using GPS as a destination device.
So, every time you use a GPS map on your phone or computer, thank Dr. Gladys West, the GPS expert, for guiding you to your destination… correctly every time.
#GoldOverBlack
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