Gladys B. West

2024
IEEE PRESIDENT’S AWARD

Sponsored by IEEE

For mathematical modeling and development of satellite geodesy models that played a pivotal role in the development of the Global Positioning System (GPS).

Gladys West played an integral role in the development of the Global Positioning System (GPS). She began her career in 1956 at the Naval Proving Ground, now called Naval Support Facility Dahlgren. She was the second African American woman hired there and one of only four African American employees in total. During her 42 years of service, West was admired by her colleagues for her skill in calculating complex mathematical equations. She rose through the ranks and worked on satellite geodesy and other satellite measurements that contributed to the accuracy of GPS. Her contributions to GPS technology have had a profound and ubiquitous impact, touching nearly every individual through its integration into smartphones, automobiles, and various other devices. She later became project manager for the radar altimetry data processing project of Seasat, the first satellite designed for remote sensing of the Earth’s oceans, for which she received a commendation. West published numerous papers and made presentations on her work at national and international conferences before retiring in 1998. After retiring, she went back to school and completed a PhD in Public Administration from Virginia Tech. West is the only Black woman to be inducted into the Air Force Missile and Space Pioneers Hall of Fame and was also inducted into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame. She was awarded the Prince Philip Medal by The Royal Academy of Engineering and is the first woman to win this award. She was recently inducted into the Surface Navy Hall of Fame. In 2020, she released her memoir, “It Began with A Dream.”

Gladys West resides in King George, VA, USA, with her husband Ira West, also a retired mathematician. At 93 years old, she still exercises regularly, is a member of Gideons International, and is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

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