

military in the era before electronic systems. West was among the so-called Hidden Figures part of the team who did computing for the U.S. Gladys was inducted into the Air Force Hall of Fame for her efforts and is universally recognized as one of the Hidden Figures whose work with vital computations allowed the U.S. Dr Gladys West is inducted into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame during a ceremony in her honour at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on December 6, 2018.
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She wrote a guide on radar altimeter satellites, which taught others how to increase the precision of satellite geodesy with her improved technology. To accomplish this, she had to account for every variation in all the forces and effects that can distort the shape of the Earth. Her most revolutionary work, though, was when she programmed the computer that calculated Earth’s geoid to the kind of sufficient precisions that enabled the existence of GPS. Through her work, she cut the processing time for these remote sensing applications in half. But in due course, they would all be recognized and appreciated.From there, she put together altimeter models of Earth’s shape in the 1960s and served as the project manager for Seasat, the first satellite to perform remote sensing of Earth’s oceans. There are many more african Americans and people of African descent doing great things. Nevertheless, we at MBBA are proud and happy about this recognition.

He wrote, “She rose through the ranks, worked on the satellite geodesy and contributed to the accuracy of GPS and the measurement of satellite data.Īs Gladys West started her career as a mathematician at Dahlgren in 1956, she likely had no idea that her work would impact the world for decades to come.” Weekes described the “integral role” Dr Gladys West played in a Black History Month message. The then-commanding officer at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division In 2017. “When you’re working every day, you’re not thinking, ‘What impact is this going to have on the world?’ You’re thinking, ‘I’ve got to get this right.’ Dr West says. And as such, her humility played a huge role as to why not many people knew about her contributions. She worked at Dahlgren for 42 years and retired in 1998. A 60-page illustrated guide, which was based off data created from the radio altimeter on the Geosat satellite, which went into orbit on March 12, 1984. In 1986, West published “Data Processing System Specifications for the Geosat Satellite Radar Altimeter,”. Dr Gladys West collected data from satellites, and that job is what eventually led to the development of the Global Positioning System. There, she was the second black woman ever to be employed. She became a teacher for two years, then went back to school for her Masters.Īccording to Yaadhustletv, “In 1956, West began to work at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. She studied mathematics at #VirginiaState and graduated top of her class. West worked hard and graduated in 1948 with the title of valedictorian.
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She earned a full scholarship to Virginia State University after graduating high school at the top of her class. This came along with dealing with hostile. Gladys Mae West is an African American Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority member, born in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. Gladys West is among a small group of women who performed. She was also only the fourth Black employee in the Dahlgren, Virginia laboratory. West was inducted into the prestigious Air Force Hall of fame. In her words “I realized I had to get an education to get out.” And that she did. After 42 years at Dahlgren, West retired in 1998. Therefore, she decided to set out far from the life of beating tobacco leaves for cigarette pipes like her parents did. Growing up, she wanted to be extra ordinary and stand out.
