West is one of the reasons why consumers can receive driving directions from a phone or tag a photo location on social media. Known today as the hidden figure who helped invent GPS, Dr. Knowledge gained through that work enabled her to program an IBM computer to calculate an accurate geodetic Earth model-the essential building block for GPS. West was born on October 27, 1930, in Sutherland, Virginia and was one of. West quickly climbed the ranks and became project manager for the Seasat radar altimetry project in the 1960s. Gladys West is an American mathematician who made significant contributions to the development of the Global Positioning System by developing a complex model of the Earth, and you may not have heard of her even though you use the technology she helped develop every day. She was the second Black woman ever hired by the Naval Surface Warfare. West was born Gladys Mae Brown on October 27, 1930, in Sutherland, Virginia. The model played an important part in the development of the Global Positioning System (GPS). With her intelligence and computational skills recognized, Dr. Mathematician who made pioneering contributions to GPS technology. American mathematician Gladys West analyzed satellite data and wrote computer programs to create a model of the precise shape of Earth. Hired as a mathematician in 1956 with Virginia's Naval Proving Ground, she was one of only four African American employees at the time.

West earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Mathematics at Virginia State University. West knew from a young age that education would be the key to moving forward from her family farm in rural Virginia.

Gladys west