If you use GPS today, it's thanks to scientist Gladys West: she changed the way we orient ourselves

©Samuel Foster via Unsplash

From geodesy (a complex of operations to connect points on the earth's surface) to the models of the earth's shape that today allow us to determine the position of any point on earth with a margin of error of only a few centimeters, Gladys West played an important role in the development of today's global positioning system, better known as the GPS.

She died a few weeks ago at the age of 95, and her achievements were belatedly recognized. As happened to many others, she received late recognition for the discoveries, hard work, research and breakthroughs she made during her lifetime. Unfortunately, the spirit of the times she was active also played to her disadvantage which meant she was not respected enough as a dark-skinned woman at the time.

On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, held every year on February 11 to celebrate the remarkable contributions of women in science and raise awareness that science and gender equality must go hand-in-hand to address major global challenges, it's worth remembering West.

Who was Gladys West, the mathematician who made GPS possible?

For large parts of her life, the name Gladys West remained unknown to the general public. Yet her quiet, meticulous work made a decisive contribution to the development of one of the most widely used technologies in the world: GPS.

At the United States Naval Armament Laboratory, she developed complex geodetic systems capable of accurately measuring the shape of the earth, a crucial step in the creation of the global positioning system. Technical work, far from the spotlight, but capable of changing the daily lives of billions of people: from car routing to smartphones, and from emergency response to transportation management.

Her personal story tells much more than just a scientific success story. Born in 1930 in a rural Virginia area marked by poverty and segregation, West understood early on that education would be her only chance for a better life. She attended segregated schools and traveled miles on foot to attend college. Her excellent results then earned her a scholarship to study mathematics at university, at a time when being both a woman and black meant starting at a double disadvantage.

In 1956 she went to work at the Naval Structure in Dahlgren, where she was one of the very few African-American employees present. There she began to work as a computer programmer and participated in highly advanced scientific projects, performing billions of calculations at a time when computers still used punch cards.

The decisive step toward GPS

In the 1970s and 1980s, West led satellite data analysis programs and contributed to the accurate mapping of the Earth's surface, taking gravity and tides into account. In 1986, one of her studies produced an accurate geodetic model of the Earth that would become the technical basis of modern GPS.

An enormous achievement, but one that remained secret for a long time because of the military nature of the research. West retired in 1998 and even earned another doctorate after surviving a stroke. But the world didn't really get to know about her until 2017, when, almost by accident, a short biography written for a university reunion caught the media's attention.

From then on, awards, accolades and her inclusion among the great female figures of contemporary science followed. A belated recognition that made her a symbol of all those brilliant minds who have remained in the shadows, especially women and people of African descent.

(©GreenMe.it 2026/Managing Editor: Selma Keshkire - The Press Junction/Picture: ©Samuel Foster via Unsplash)