Hidden Figure of GPS (Commonwealth Classroom)

In this virtual event on February 19, 2021, VMHC Curator Karen Sherry led audiences in a conversation with Dr. Gladys West. This Dinwiddie County native helped develop GPS and other satellite mapping technology during her long career at the Naval Surface Weapons Center at Dahlgren, Virginia. Dr. West shared stories from her remarkable life, including rising from rural poverty to gain an education and facing racism and sexism as one of the first two black women to join Dahlgren in 1956. Since retiring, she has continued to value education: she earned a Ph.D. and established a scholarship fund for students seeking careers in STEM fields. Dr. West has also recently published an autobiography, It Began with a Dream (2020). The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.