I always felt that I would give my best regardless of what was going on, to give my best of myself because I just respected myself that well,
(Dr Gladys Mae West, née Gladys Mae Brown, in her memoir It Began with a Dream)Imagine walking down an unfamiliar road, trying to find a shop, a friend’s home or a tourist destination in an unfamiliar place. What would you search for on your phone first? A map, right?
Every day, we benefit from Dr West’s work, even though her name remained largely unknown for decades, like those of many other Black women whose contributions went unrecognised. Her work in mathematics and satellite geodesy helped lay the foundation for the Global Positioning System (GPS).
An African American woman, West was born on 27 October 1930 in rural Virginia, United States, to parents who worked hard to support their family. Her childhood included working on the family farm, but she was determined to pursue an education.
In an interview published by the National Center of Women’s Innovations, West spoke about the importance of education in helping her move beyond farm life. She worked hard at school and earned a scholarship to pursue higher education.
Every day I wished and dreamed of having more- more books, more classrooms, more teachers, and more time to dream and imagine what life would be like if only I could fly away from the strenuous and seemingly never-ending work on our family farm
(— It Began with a Dream)
West earned a scholarship to Virginia State College, a historically Black university in Richmond, where she completed a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1952. She later returned to the institution and earned a master’s degree in mathematics in 1955.
After teaching for a while, West joined the US Naval Proving Ground in Dahlgren, Virginia, in 1956 as a mathematician. The facility was later known as the Naval Surface Warfare Center. At the time, she was one of only a few Black employees there and the second Black woman to be hired at the facility.
Her work involved complex mathematical calculations and computer programming. Although computer programming was a new field for her, she developed the skills needed to work with the technology.
It was also at the naval facility that she met Ira West, a fellow mathematician. They married in 1957.
In the early 1960s, West took part in an award-winning astronomical study that established the regularity of Pluto’s orbit in relation to Neptune.
She later managed the radar-altimetry data-processing project for Seasat, a NASA satellite designed to observe the Earth’s oceans. The project involved processing satellite measurements to study the oceans and the Earth’s surface. West’s work helped improve the efficiency of the data-processing system, and she was recommended for a commendation in 1979.
From the mid-1970s through the 1980s, West also worked on mathematical models of the Earth’s shape. She used the IBM 7030 Stretch computer to make increasingly precise calculations, accounting for variations caused by gravitational and tidal forces.
In 1986, she published a technical report on the data-processing system for the US Navy’s GEOSAT satellite. The satellite collected radar-altimetry data that helped researchers develop more accurate models of the Earth’s shape. Such models, known as geoid models, were important to satellite geodesy, which contributed to the accuracy of GPS.
After 42 years of service at the naval facility, West retired in 1998. She later completed a PhD in public administration at Virginia Tech in 2000.
Throughout her career, West faced challenges linked to racism and gender discrimination. Her memoir, co-authored with M. H. Jackson, recounts aspects of her life and career. Reports on her experiences describe how she received fewer opportunities for high-profile assignments and travel than some of her white colleagues.
Despite her contribution to the development of GPS, West reportedly preferred conventional paper maps. Her work was carried out in a military research environment, and its wider civilian applications were not immediately apparent to her.
Recognition came later in her life. In 2018, she was inducted into the US Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame. She received the Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021.
“Better late than never” was her reaction to the recognition she received, according to interviews with her children.
Gwen James, a fellow member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., played a key role in bringing West’s achievements to wider public attention. James read a short biography West had submitted to the sorority for an event honouring its senior members. Surprised by the extent of West’s contribution to GPS, James helped bring her story to the media. The resulting coverage also helped West’s children better understand the significance of her work.
West died in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on 17 January 2026, at the age of 95.
Dr Gladys Mae West was one of many Black women whose contributions were overlooked in a society shaped by racism and discrimination. She continued to do her work despite those barriers. Her life is a reminder that the significance of a person’s contribution can endure long after the obstacles they faced have been forgotten.