Dr. Gladys West. 1930 to 2026.
Born on a Virginia farm during the Jim Crow era, Dr West became one of only four Black employees at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in 1956 and the second Black woman ever hired there.
The mathematician's calculations quietly became the backbone of GPS technology used by billions of people every single day. The world has navigated by her work for decades before it learned her name. That's the kind of legacy that doesn't need a spotlight to be real. It just is.
We honor Dr. West and the long line of Black women who built the future while the world looked the other way🤎
Rest in power, Dr. West. We see you now.
