R.I.P.

Via Zebra Press

Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She passed away Saturday, surrounded by her loving family. She was 95.

Her story began far from satellites and supercomputers. Born into poverty on a Virginia farm during the Jim Crow era, West grew up in a segregated South where opportunity was scarce. Through determination and extraordinary academic talent, she graduated first in her high school class and earned a scholarship to Virginia State College (now Virginia State University). She received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1952 and went on to earn a master’s degree in 1955.

In 1956, West began working as a mathematician at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia. She was only the second African American woman hired at the base and one of just four African American employees at the time. What followed was a career that would quietly change the world.

At Dahlgren, West devoted herself to solving one of science’s most complex challenges: accurately modeling the shape of the Earth. Her painstaking calculations and programming helped transform raw satellite data into precise geodetic models, enabling reliable satellite-based navigation. That work ultimately became the backbone of the Global Positioning System (GPS) — now essential to aviation, shipping, emergency response, smartphones, and daily life worldwide.

Though her work reshaped modern navigation, West remained largely unknown for decades. Friends and colleagues have often noted that GPS’s remarkable accuracy rests on years of meticulous mathematical labor done behind the scenes by scientists like West, who pursued the work not for recognition, but because it mattered.

Over many years, Jane Plitt, founder and board chair of the Alexandria-based National Center for Women’s Innovations (NCWI), made it her mission to put Gladys West on the map—quite literally. West’s story became the centerpiece of NCWI’s inaugural work, culminating in a lavish gala celebrating her 93rd birthday on October 27, 2023. Emceed by Deborah Roberts, the evening showcased West’s extraordinary contributions, with West herself declaring, “This is the best day of my life.”

Through Plitt’s leadership, NCWI brought Gladys West’s legacy into the public spotlight. On March 7, 2024, Plitt unveiled an interactive exhibit honoring West’s groundbreaking research at the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard. After drawing thousands of visitors in the campus lobby, the exhibit went on the road and has since traveled to multiple states, sharing the story of another “hidden figure” whose work helped shape modern technology.

In a tribute shared on her social media feed tonight, Jane Plitt announced that West passed away Saturday evening, January 17, surrounded by friends and family. She remembered her as “petite in stature but gigantic in impact.”

Beyond her scientific achievements, West was deeply devoted to her family. She is reunited in death with her beloved husband, Ira West, and leaves behind a legacy of love, intellect, and inspiration that continues through generations. West leaves behind three children, Dr. Carolyn West Oglesby, David West, and Michael West, along with seven grandchildren.

Dr. Gladys West’s life stands as a powerful reminder that brilliance can emerge from the most unlikely circumstances—and that quiet determination can alter the course of history. As those who knew her have urged, keep her story alive.

⬇️Link in comments and here: thezebra.org/2026/01/18…

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National Center of Women's Innovations