1930 Gladys Mae West (née Brown), GPS & Earth Geoid Pioneer

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Gladys Mae West (née Brown),  GPS & Earth Geoid Pioneer

Bio "Meet Gladys Mae West, the hidden hero behind a system billions of people rely on today"

"Millions of people around the world rely on GPS technology every day…And the development of that technology is thanks in large part to the intellect of one trailblazing woman."

Wikipedia Bio:  "American mathematician known for her contributions to the mathematical modeling of the shape of the Earth, and her work on the development of the satellite geodesy models that were eventually incorporated into the Global Positioning System (GPS).  West was inducted into the United States Air Force Hall of Fame in 2018.

   In the early 1960s, she participated in an award-winning astronomical study that proved the regularity of Pluto’s motion relative to Neptune. Subsequently, West began to analyze data from satellites, putting together altimeter models of the Earth's shape. She became project manager for the Seasat radar altimetry project, the first satellite that could remotely sense oceans. West consistently put in extra hours, cutting her team's processing time in half. She was recommended for a commendation in 1979.

   From the mid-1970s through the 1980s, West programmed an IBM computer to deliver increasingly precise calculations to model the shape of the Earth – an ellipsoid with irregularities, known as the geoid. Generating an extremely accurate model required her to employ complex algorithms to account for variations in gravitational, tidal, and other forces that distort Earth's shape. West's data ultimately became the basis for the Global Positioning System (GPS).

   West continues to prefer using a paper map over a tracking system, saying she still trusts her brain above all."

(xHistory xPOC xBlack xAfricanAmerican xWomen xUSA xGPS xSatellite xMathematician xGeoid xComputerScientist)

Image: 2003 ArcMAP of Mean Sea Level, GPS and the Geoid