National Center of Women's Innovations

🌟 Honoring the Life and Legacy of Dr. Gladys West 🌟

We are deeply saddened to share the passing of Dr. Gladys West, a pioneering mathematician whose groundbreaking work helped lay the foundation for GPS technology and forever changed how the world navigates and connects.

The National Center of Women’s Innovations is profoundly honored to share Dr. West’s story through our traveling exhibit. Most especially, we were privileged that Dr. West was able to see the exhibit herself during its opening at the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus last year—a moment of recognition and celebration that meant so much to our community and to the legacy she leaves behind.

📍 Visit the NCWI Exhibit at the Auraria Library
Dr. West’s story is currently on display as part of the NCWI exhibit at the Auraria Library in Denver. We invite you to visit, learn more about her extraordinary life, and reflect on the impact of women whose contributions have too often gone unrecognized.

https://memoritree.com/memorial/gladys-mae-west

🙏UPDATE 🙏Dr. West Celebration of Life 🙏

Due to current and impending weather concerns at both locations, the Memorial service and the Celebration of Life for mom have been rescheduled. Please share with others not on FB.
The service arrangements are as follows:
Thursday February 5. 2026

Viewing:
Shiloh Baptist Church (New Site)
525 Princess Anne Street
Fredericksburg VA 22405
3:30 PM– 5:30 PM/After the memorial until 7:00 PM

Memorial Service:
Shiloh Baptist Church (New Site)
525 Princess Anne Street
Fredericksburg VA 22405
5:45 PM (including Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Ivy Beyond the Wall ceremony)

Saturday February 7, 2026

Viewing
Rocky Branch Baptist Church
6009 Rocky Branch Rd
Sutherland, VA 23885
One hour before the service

Celebration of Life:
Rocky Branch Baptist Church
12:00 Noon

Repast:
Following the Service

Burial:
Dinwiddie Memorial Park
7324 Church Rd
Petersburg, VA 23803

🙏Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She passed away Saturday, surrounded by her loving family. She was 95.

Her story began far from satellites and supercomputers. Born into poverty on a Virginia farm during the Jim Crow era, West grew up in a segregated South where opportunity was scarce. Through determination and extraordinary academic talent, she graduated first in her high school class and earned a scholarship to Virginia State College (now Virginia State University). She received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1952 and went on to earn a master’s degree in 1955.

In 1956, West began working as a mathematician at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia. She was only the second African American woman hired at the base and one of just four African American employees at the time. What followed was a career that would quietly change the world.

At Dahlgren, West devoted herself to solving one of science’s most complex challenges: accurately modeling the shape of the Earth. Her painstaking calculations and programming helped transform raw satellite data into precise geodetic models, enabling reliable satellite-based navigation. That work ultimately became the backbone of the Global Positioning System (GPS) — now essential to aviation, shipping, emergency response, smartphones, and daily life worldwide.

Though her work reshaped modern navigation, West remained largely unknown for decades. Friends and colleagues have often noted that GPS’s remarkable accuracy rests on years of meticulous mathematical labor done behind the scenes by scientists like West, who pursued the work not for recognition, but because it mattered.

Over many years, Jane Plitt, founder and board chair of the Alexandria-based National Center for Women’s Innovations (NCWI), made it her mission to put Gladys West on the map—quite literally. West’s story became the centerpiece of NCWI’s inaugural work, culminating in a lavish gala celebrating her 93rd birthday on October 27, 2023. Emceed by Deborah Roberts, the evening showcased West’s extraordinary contributions, with West herself declaring, “This is the best day of my life.”

Through Plitt’s leadership, NCWI brought Gladys West’s legacy into the public spotlight. On March 7, 2024, Plitt unveiled an interactive exhibit honoring West’s groundbreaking research at the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard. After drawing thousands of visitors in the campus lobby, the exhibit went on the road and has since traveled to multiple states, sharing the story of another “hidden figure” whose work helped shape modern technology.

In a tribute shared on her social media feed tonight, Jane Plitt announced that West passed away Saturday evening, January 17, surrounded by friends and family. She remembered her as “petite in stature but gigantic in impact.”

Beyond her scientific achievements, West was deeply devoted to her family. She is reunited in death with her beloved husband, Ira West, and leaves behind a legacy of love, intellect, and inspiration that continues through generations. West leaves behind three children, Dr. Carolyn West Oglesby, David West, and Michael West, along with seven grandchildren.

Dr. Gladys West’s life stands as a powerful reminder that brilliance can emerge from the most unlikely circumstances—and that quiet determination can alter the course of history. As those who knew her have urged, keep her story alive.

⬇️Link in comments and here: https://thezebra.org/2026/01/18/dr-gladys-west-mathematician-whose-work-made-gps-possible-dies-at-95/


National Center of Women's Innovations

✨ Four women. Four game-changing ideas. One powerful conversation.

From making the desert bloom, to launching the first salon franchise, to transforming modern fashion, to inventing Liquid Paper—these innovators dared to think differently.

Our founder, Jane Plitt, recently joined the Seekers and Scholars podcast by the Mary Baker Eddy Library to explore the surprising role Christian Science played in their lives—and how their courage and creativity still inspire change today.

🔗 https://www.marybakereddylibrary.org/research/podcast/104-christian-science-and-women-innovators/

✨ At our most recent board meeting, we started with an icebreaker: share a one-sentence story of a woman innovator who has shaped our lives and our work.

The energy in the room was electric—and it got us thinking:

We all carry stories of women whose brilliance, courage, and creativity have left a mark on us. Some are household names, others are quiet trailblazers whose contributions deserve to be celebrated.

We want to hear from you!

💬 Who are the women innovators who inspire you—past or present, famous or unsung? What have they taught you about possibility, perseverance, or breaking barriers?

Share their names and a one-sentence story in the comments so we can all be inspired together. 🌟

Our innovator of the month, Mimi Vandermolen, revolutionized how we sit, steer, and feel inside our cars. A trailblazer for women in automotive design, she reimagined car ergonomics and aesthetics with the user in mind—especially women—and left an indelible mark on the industry. Her innovations earned her induction into the Automotive Hall of Fame.

Learn more about Mimi's incredible contributions at:

Mimi Vandermolen — The Mother of Automotive Ergonomics - The National Center of Women's Innovations Mimi Vandermolen revolutionized how we sit, steer, and feel inside our cars. A trailblazer for women in automotive design, she reimagined car ergonomics and aesthetics with the user in mind—especially ...

Dynamite Arlington Commision on Women meeting yesterday as the Commissioners embraced supporting NCWI’s efforts and I theirs! Win-win strategies are the best!

Dr. West is on the map ! Her exhibit is traveling to the U. Of Colorado / Denver thanks to the gracious underwriting of Trimble and the warm
Welcome of the university . But, not before a glorious goodbye salute in Alexandria, Va. Thanks to all . See you in Denver soon .

Tech Pioneer Gladys West Traveling Exhibit Heads West It began with a dream. A poor black Virginia farm girl comes of age in the Jim Crow south. She graduates first in her high school class, winning a

💜TODAY 9 AM- Virginia Tech Innovation Campus
Join us on July 3rd at 9 am as we give the Dr. West Exhibit a powerful goodbye salute from VT Innovation Campus, Building 1. Register for this free, but memorable event as Dr. Lance Collins, Executive Director of the VT Innovation Campus, Dr. West's daughter, Carolyn Ogelsby, VT Exhibit designer Scott Fralin, Air Force Colonel Joan Thompson, of the Gladys West Senior Space Command and we soar forward with Vaughn Ambrose 's music (Yellow Dog Concert)

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16EZiEMKA7/?mibextid=. Catch the exhibit tomorrow in Alexandria at 9 am or then in August in Denver . Dr. West is on the map and moving !

Dreams some times take time to come true. Saturday there was a faulty Audi part , a crash and boom our hopes for a medal vanished , but only for this Watkins Glen race. There are more races to come. The black clouds seemed to hover over the weekend . Board secretary Jennifer Gabriel’s car also broke down with her car full of wanna-be supporters. But Jane Plitt and Jim Bruen safely arrived from Va. and Rochester, NY diehard supporters Mary Worboys-Turner and husband Scott plus Kelly Lou Landouer , along with her Lam groupies , cheered on Christina Lam , our heroine who dares to step out of her comfort zone and persist . Victory awaits us all!! , , ,

Thanks to the International Motor Racing Research Center ( Kip Zeiter snd Mark Steigerwald) and the Watkins Glen Library ( Kelly Povero and Juliet Asperschalger) folks gathered to hear Christina Lam who unfortunately became ill during her qualifiers yesterday and could not appear . Let’s hope she recovers for victory today ! Cheering her on was Motor Mechanics Alfred State student Roxana Jackson who drove 3 hrs to hear from Christina, fellow racer Luis Martinez , racing fans from near and far including local residents and community leaders , and, of course, NCWI Board Chair Jane Plitt! Grateful for such support for NCWI’s Women Driving Change . www.womensinnovations.org, , ,