![]() ![]() ![]() West transformed the way we all work and live today and not surprisingly she and her family continue their efforts in support of STEM. ![]() I am also appreciative that I had the opportunity to thank her for her role as a pioneer in our history and for the impact she has had on our profession and in the advancement for women and minorities in STEM. I am very grateful for the experience and to be able to listen to her personally share, in a humble fashion, the account of her career and achievements. ![]() “It was truly an honor to represent the VAS and to have an opportunity to meet Dr. Gladys West’s grandson to become a future Land Surveyor and member of our VAS,” Faulhaber said. I introduced and extended the invitation to her son to apply for a scholarship from our Education Trust. It was awesome to hear that her grandson has expressed an interest in a career of land surveying. I was totally in awe of her humility and kindness. Today, by far, was one of the greatest moments of my Presidency. “It was truly an honor and a privilege to present Dr. West have also created a local STEM scholarship. West, her husband of more than 60 years, Ira, and her children Carolyn, herself a PhD, and son, Thomas, a GIS program manager for Spotsylvania County, VA. The surveying community learned of her accomplishments through a subsequent story in a surveying trade magazine. Her daughter, Carolyn Oglesby, said she and her brother, Thomas, never knew of their mother’s remarkable achievements until recently, when their hometown newspaper, the Fredericksburg Free Lance Star, published a feature story. West told the VAS delegation stories of her career, including the fact that her work for the Department of Defense was highly classified, meaning she could never tell her children what she was doing. Gladys West, this certificate of Honorary Membership in our Virginia Association of Surveyors.”ĭr. West, Faulhaber said, it is “in overwhelming gratitude for your contributions and groundbreaking work in mathematics, revolutionizing positioning, navigation & timing or ‘PNT’, satellite geodesy, the mathematical modeling of the shape of the earth to define the “ellipsoid”, the computation of gravity coefficients from geoid heights, GPS, which now has become an everyday tool for most every layperson and is actually responsible for bringing each of us here to your door.” He noted, “you have already received numerous awards which include two prestigious awards presented in just the past year, the United States Air Force Space and Missiles Pioneers Hall of Fame and a National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) award of lasting appreciation for your contributions in satellite geodesy.” He concluded, “on behalf of our Board of Directors and all of the members of the Virginia Association of Surveyors, the great land surveyors of your home Commonwealth, it is my great honor and privilege to present to you, Dr. Upon presenting a certificate of Honorary Member in VAS to Dr. The Honorary Member recognition had been unanimously approved by the VAS Board of Directors. West and her family at her home in King George. Representing VAS was President Gary Faulhaber, Second Vice President Alison Hanson, Dave Doyle (Honorary Member of VAS and former Chief Geodetic Surveyor of the National Geodetic Survey), and Executive Director John Palatiello. Gladys West of King George in recognition of her work on the mathematical modeling of the shape of the Earth and the development of the satellite geodesy models that were eventually incorporated into the Global Positioning System (GPS). The Virginia Association of Surveyors (VAS), the professional society of more than 400 licensed surveyors in the Commonwealth, today announced it has bestowed an Honorary Membership upon Dr. ![]()
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