Gladys West
#23,233 Most Popular
About
Mathematician who made pioneering contributions to GPS technology. She was the second Black woman ever hired by the Naval Surface Warfare Center. In 2018, she was inducted into the United States Air Force Hall of Fame.
Before fame
She received her BS and her MS from Virginia State University. She also holds an MA from the University of Oklahoma and a PhD from Virginia Tech University.
Trivia
She was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. She lived a full life, passing away at the age of 95 in January 2026.
Family life
She was born in Sutherland, Virginia, to a family of farmers that belonged to a community of sharecroppers. In 1957, she married Ira West. They share three children and seven grandchildren.
Associated with
Katherine Johnson was another prominent Black mathematician who worked for NASA during the early years of the space race. She and Isabel Allende were both featured in the BBC's 100 Women list of 2018.
