Let’s Celebrate Dr. Gladys West
Gladys West was born in Virginia in 1930. School was very important to her. She did well in every subject. In college she studied math. She became a mathematician. She went to work for the US Navy. She was the second Black woman to work in military technology.
Photo Credit: Adrian Cadiz/DVIDS/Department of Defense
Gladys worked on a huge computer. It was the size of a refrigerator! She solved math problems on the computer. Sometimes the computer was wrong. Dr. West fixed the computer’s mistakes!
Photo Credit: Samantha Ohlsen / Alamy Stock Photo
Gladys used data to create GPS. She used data on the earth’s surface. GPS gives us directions when we go places. Dr. Gladys West changed the world!
What Do You Think? How does your family use GPS?
Reading Response Click on this link to respond to your reading. Print out the response page or upload it to your classroom site.
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