The world has lost a mind whose work guides us every day.
Gladys West, a pioneering mathematician whose contributions helped make modern GPS possible, has passed away at 95, peacefully on January 2026, surrounded by family and friends.
West’s mathematical models of the Earth’s shape became a critical foundation for satellite navigation, allowing precise positioning anywhere on the globe. Her work helps guide everything from airplanes and ships to smartphones and emergency services, though she once joked that she still preferred using paper maps.
Born in 1930 in rural Virginia, West grew up in the South, working on her family’s farm and walking miles to a one-room schoolhouse. She originally planned to study home economics, but discovered a love for geometry that led her to pursue mathematics. A scholarship took her to Virginia State College, where she earned her degree and later a master’s in mathematics.
In 1956, she joined a U.S. Navy research facility in Dahlgren, Virginia. Over a 42-year career, West worked with early computers to develop algorithms that accounted for the Earth’s irregular shape, gravity, and tidal forces, refinements that were essential for accurate satellite positioning.
Without the mathematical groundwork she helped establish, the global navigation systems used today would not function as they do.
For most of her career, West’s contributions remained largely unknown outside scientific circles. Later in life, she received major honors, including induction into the U.S. Air Force Hall of Fame and the Prince Philip Medal.
She inspired generations of scientists and mathematicians.
@RealCandaceO Pause for a moment Candace, and see how your are alienating a lot of Christians by this rhetoric. Tucker showed Cruz blindly following Israel is wrong-but can you build a better bridge to the truth for them without going directly to Demonic Nation? That is a big jump for some
@RealCandaceO It is weird in reading the history of the Star of David, many Jews did not want the symbol in the Middle Ages because of its ties to the Occult and their practices-and was not adopted until the 1800’s! Very interesting.
@RealCandaceO Reminds me of Psalm 7:
Whoever is pregnant with evil
conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment.
Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit they have made.
The trouble they cause recoils on them;
their violence comes down on their own heads.
ESPN blocked Ohio State QB Will Howard from joining his teammates on stage after their epic Rose Bowl.
The woke network was afraid Howard would give glory to God and acknowledge Christ as his savior on live TV.
Should Christians boycott ESPN?