The Global Positioning System, or GPS, has become an integral part of modern life, used for navigation, tracking, and a wide range of applications from transportation to agriculture. But how many people know the story of the woman who helped create it?
Gladys West was born in rural Virginia in 1930, the second of eight children. Growing up in a farming family, she had a love of learning and a fascination with mathematics. Her parents, who themselves had only a limited education, instilled in their children the importance of education and hard work.
West's academic ability earned her a scholarship to Virginia State College (now University), where she studied mathematics. After graduating in 1952, she started teaching in a local school, but soon returned to Virginia State to pursue a Master's degree in mathematics. She later completed a second Master's degree in public administration from the University of Oklahoma.
In 1956, West was hired as a mathematician at the Naval Proving Ground in Dahlgren, Virginia. Her job was to analyze satellite data to track and measure the position of various objects. This work would prove to be foundational to the creation of GPS, which relies on satellite data to determine location.
West's work on the mathematical model for calculating satellite positions and orbit patterns was crucial to the development of GPS. She spent years refining the model, using complex algorithms and programming languages to create a system that could accurately predict the position of satellites and their signals.
Despite her significant contributions to the development of GPS, West's work went largely unnoticed for decades. She retired from the Naval Surface Warfare Center in 1998, after a long and successful career, and only learned of her impact on GPS in 2018, when a colleague shared an article about her work.
Today, West is recognized as a pioneer in the development of GPS and a trailblazer for women and people of color in science and technology. She has been honored with numerous awards, including induction into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame and the 2021 Samuel P. Langley Medal from the Smithsonian Institution.
Gladys West's story is a reminder of the many hidden figures in science and technology whose contributions have been overlooked or undervalued. Her perseverance, dedication, and passion for mathematics helped create a technology that has transformed our world.
