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Rising up in King George County, Carolyn West Oglesby ’83 didn’t actually take into consideration what her dad and mom did all day at work. She simply knew that Gladys and Ira West have been civilian mathematicians on the naval base at Dahlgren, the place the household lived and he or she and her two brothers attended college.
It wasn’t till lengthy after Oglesby had earned a bachelor’s diploma in economics from Mary Washington, established her personal profession, and accomplished her grasp’s and doctoral levels that she realized the true significance of her mom’s work. Gladys West’s efforts with the navy, utilizing satellites to map the world, have been foundational to the event of the International Positioning System (GPS).
The life and work of Gladys West, and her contributions to what would ultimately develop into a vital on a regular basis navigational instrument, are the main focus of the William B. Crawley Great Lives lecture at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, in Dodd Auditorium of George Washington Corridor.
Most important speaker Karen Sherry, curator on the Virginia Museum of Historical past and Tradition, will current biographical details about West, and Oglesby will likely be a part of a panel answering questions on her mom. Extra panelists are Marvin Jackson, who labored with West to jot down her autobiography, It Started With a Dream; and Alan Dean, a UMW adjunct teacher, Dahlgren retiree and former colleague of Ira West.
Oglesby mentioned that whereas her dad and mom are unable to attend the lecture in particular person, each are happy by Gladys West’s inclusion within the Nice Lives sequence. It’s simply the newest instance of public appreciation for a profession that, regardless of its significance and lasting influence, occurred principally out of the highlight.
Gladys Brown grew up in a farming household in Dinwiddie, Virginia, and as valedictorian of her segregated highschool earned a full scholarship to Virginia State Faculty, now Virginia State College. She earned bachelor’s and grasp’s levels in arithmetic earlier than beginning her profession at Dahlgren in 1956.
There, she grew to become one in every of simply two girls and 4 African Individuals on workers on the time. One among her co-workers was Ira West, who grew to become her husband.
Doing calculations at first by hand and later utilizing successive generations of computer systems, Gladys West labored on groups mapping and measuring the Earth from house, devising applications and algorithms to research satellite tv for pc knowledge precisely. After West’s retirement within the late Nineties, she additionally earned a doctorate.
At the same time as GPS units grew to become commonplace, West’s contributions have been unheralded till she wrote a brief bio for the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, of which each she and Oglesby are members. An AKA sorority sister, Gwen James, made the connection between West’s work for the navy and the ever-present modern-day civilian know-how. James contacted native reporter Cathy Dyson, and the ensuing 2018 article in The Free Lance-Star opened the floodgates, Oglesby mentioned.
Gladys West has since acquired worldwide accolades for her profession together with a decision by the Virginia State Senate, honors from the navy, inclusion in museum displays, and now the Nice Lives lecture.
However Oglesby mentioned what issues most to her mom is the possibility to work together with kids in elementary and center college in hopes of inspiring them to check out science, know-how, engineering and math (STEM) topics.
“Her actual objective,” Oglesby mentioned, “is to verify folks know they’ll do what they wish to do. Particularly children … they’re simply pleasant.”
The 20th season of UMW’s Great Lives series is free and open to the general public. Lectures happen at 7:30 p.m. on choose Tuesdays and Thursdays by March 28, 2023, at Dodd Auditorium in George Washington Corridor on campus.
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