![]() ![]() This project led to the GEOSAT satellite, which used SEASAT and other data to create highly accurate computer simulations of the earth’s surface. In 1978, West was project manager for SEASAT, the first earth-orbiting satellite designed for remote sensing of the Earth’s oceans her group used it to measure ocean depths. After that, West focused on calculations for satellite orbits. In 1964 the Navy recognized Project 29V with a merit award. In 1962 she helped program NORC for Project 29V, which established the motion of the planet Pluto relative to Neptune, through 5 billion arithmetic calculations and 100 hours of computer calculation. ![]() They maintained their jobs, family, and social commitments by employing a full-time housekeeper.Īfter some training in computer programming, West’s work at Dahlgren began with the Naval Ordinance Research Calculator (NORC). West and her husband raised three children, took part in social life on the base, and attended a local Baptist church. West, became Gladys Brown’s husband in 1957 they recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. Another Black mathematician on base, Ira V. Naval Weapons Laboratory in Dahlgren, Virginia in 1956, where she worked until retirement in 1998.Īt Dahlgren, West was the second Black woman hired and the fourth Black employee. She continued to apply to government jobs and received her first offer from the U.S. In 1955, she received a master’s in mathematics from her alma mater. ![]() Instead, West taught mathematics in Martinsville, Virginia, while pursing graduate work. In a field dominated by white men in a segregated state, her efforts were initially unsuccessful. As valedictorian of her high school class, she earned a full scholarship to Virginia State College (now Virginia State University).Īfter graduating in 1952, West applied for a host of government jobs. Early on, West’s teachers encouraged her love of mathematics, which she pursued as a path out of agricultural work. Her parents owned their small farm and West picked corn, cotton, and tobacco from the time she was young. West’s modeling directly contributed to the ubiquitous use of the global positioning system (GPS) today.īorn on October 27, 1930, Gladys Mae Brown resided in Sutherland, Virginia in rural Dinwiddie County. Gladys West is a mathematician whose calculations and computer programming helped construct a geoid (a mathematical model of the earth’s shape). ![]()
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