US EditionAsk Fuzzy: GPS Pioneer Gladys West Never Lost Sight of Her Dream
7 Articles
7 Articles
Gladys West, an American mathematician who played a major role in the creation of the Global Positioning System (GPS), died on January 17, 2026 at the age of 95. The technology, now used by millions of people around the world, was created thanks to the work of a woman who had to overcome not only scientific challenges but also racial segregation and discrimination.
Washington - American mathematician Gladys West, whose modeling of the Earth's shape played a key role in the development of the GPS satellite navigation system used by millions of people around the world, has died at the age of 95, The New York Times (NYT) reported.
RIP Gladys Mae West, the Pioneering Black Mathematician Who Helped Lay the Foundation for GPS
Gladys Mae West was born in rural Virginia in 1930, grew up working on a tobacco farm, and died earlier this month a celebrated mathematician whose work made possible the GPS technology most of us use each and every day. Hers was a distinctively American life, in more ways than one. Seeking an escape from the agricultural labor she’d already gotten to know all too well, she won a scholarship to Virginia State College by becoming her high school …
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 100% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
