geodesy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladys_West
"Before GPS became an everyday utility, it was a hard mathematical problem.
In 1950s–70s, Gladys West - mathematician @ U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, VA - worked on one of the most difficult challenges in satellite navigation: accurately modeling the Earth itself.
Modern GPS accuracy depends on:
• Precise satellite ephemerides
• Accurate gravitational field modeling
• Correct Earth reference frames
West’s work directly advanced all three
Her contributions weren’t widely recognized; it wasn’t until 2018 that she was inducted into the USAF Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame - decades after GPS reshaped global navigation, logistics, finance, defense & mobile computing...
Before GPS could tell us where we are, someone had to define what the Earth actually looks like mathematically…”
#Engineering #GPS #Geodesy #STEM #TechHistory #WomenInTech #DataScience #Infrastructure #WomenInGeoSpatial
H/T Evan Kirstel [despite their puerile AI-generated image of Ms. West]

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