The GPS in your phone and car works due to the calculations of Gladys West. Working in the 1950s and 60s, West was an American mathematician who developed algorithms to model the Earth's shape. Without her precise geodesy work, the modern Global Positioning System would lack accuracy. She was part of a legacy of women in navigation and astronomy. During World War II, Gertrude Blanch led the Mathematical Tables Project, and in the 4th century Hypatia of Alexandria edited key scientific texts, pav