Gladys West

Gladys Mae West is an American mathematician best known for her contributions to mathematical modeling of the Earth's form, as well as her work on the construction of satellite geodesy models that were subsequently included into the Global Positioning System (GPS). In 2018, West was inducted into the United States Air Force Hall of Fame. West received the Webby Lifetime Achievement Award at the 25th Annual Webby Awards for his work on satellite geodesy models.

West was employed in 1956 as the second black woman and one of just four black employees at the Naval Proving Ground in Dahlgren, Virginia (now known as the Naval Surface Warfare Center). West worked as a programmer for large-scale computers and as a project manager for data-processing systems utilized in satellite data analysis at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. West got a second master's degree in public administration from the University of Oklahoma at the same time.

Her work on Seasat, an experimental United States ocean surveillance satellite meant to give data on a wide range of oceanographic conditions and characteristics, contributed to the development of a more well-known technology: the Global Positioning System (GPS). West, like NASA mathematicians Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, is sometimes referred to as one of history's "hidden figures": persons, generally Black women, whose perceptive contributions to science remained unnoticed during their lifetime due to their race or gender. West's contribution to the creation of GPS was not fully recognized until 2018, when she was inducted into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame.

Detailed information:
Born: October 27, 1930 (age 92)
Alma mater:

• Virginia State University (BS)
• Virginia State University (MS)
• University of Oklahoma (MA)
• Virginia Tech (PhD)

Known for: Satellite geodesy