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Gladys West
Mathematician whose geodetic models made GPS possible
She modeled the shape of the Earth so precisely that satellites could find you anywhere — and no one knew her name for decades.
The rise
Born in rural Virginia, West was one of only four Black employees at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren. For decades she programmed satellite computers and refined the mathematical models of the Earth's geoid that became the foundation of the Global Positioning System.