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.
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Yes. Even you!
If you’ve followed me here for any length of time (or read my book The Daycare Myth), you know that I’ve written extensively about the ways that infant brain development is optimized through face to face interactions with highly engaged adults.
Obviously this includes parents as infants most trusted caregivers… but it isn’t limited to parents alone.
Which brings us to this incredible video (shared to FB by preciousmoments) in which a grandfather reads Nancy Shaw’s fantastic picture book Sheep in a Jeep to his adoring grandson.
You get the sense that reading itself isn’t novel to the little guy, but having grandpa take on the task is a special occasion indeed.
So much so, in fact, that our hero is having trouble focusing on the pages - giving each a quick glance and then returning with laser focus to his expressive, smiling grandfather (who knocks the whole experience out of the park).
We all play a role in the healthy development of the young children in our lives.
So here’s to the doting grandparents! And to the infant/toddler teachers who make this their work each day.
And here’s to the aunties and uncles who stand ready to step into the breech and give mom and dad a little respite. And to the engaged best friends and the adoring older siblings!
We all have a role to play when it comes to building brains. What a lucky little guy.