Gladys West, mathematician linked to GPS development, dies at 95

Gladys West, a mathematician whose modeling of the Earth's shape helped form the mathematical framework used by GPS, died Jan. 17 at her home in Fredericksburg, Va., at age 95.

Gladys West, a mathematician who worked at the U.S. Naval Weapons Laboratory in Dahlgren, Va., died Jan. 17 at her home in Fredericksburg, Va. She was 95 and lived with her daughter, Carolyn West Oglesby. West’s calculations of the Earth’s shape were later incorporated into the World Geodetic System, a foundation for global positioning systems. She spent much of her career working without public recognition and received wider honors late in life. Key facts: - West joined the naval weapons facility in Dahlgren in 1956 and began with tasks such as verifying bombing tables by hand. - In the early 1960s she helped program computers to run large calculations, including tracking Pluto relative to Neptune, and later led work using an IBM 7030 to model the precise shape of the Earth. - Government scientists developing GPS incorporated those calculations into the World Geodetic System used to determine satellite orbits and precise locations on Earth. - Her role remained largely unpublicized for decades; her story gained attention after a 2018 sorority event, and she later received honors including the Air Force’s Space and Missile Pioneers Award and a Prince Philip Medal from the Royal Academy of Engineering. - Born Oct. 27, 1930, in Sutherland, Va., West earned a bachelor’s degree in 1952 and a master’s in 1955 in mathematics from Virginia State College, retired in 1998, and earned a doctorate from Virginia Tech in 2000. She is survived by three children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Summary: Her mathematical work contributed to the foundations of the World Geodetic System and thus to how GPS locates positions on Earth. Undetermined at this time.