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Gladys West: the mathematics under GPS

The geodesist whose Earth model made satellite navigation possible.

Lecture / talkScience & natureFree

At Royal Geographical Society.

Gladys West spent her career at the United States naval base at Dahlgren turning satellite altimeter readings into a mathematical model of the Earth as a lumpy geoid rather than a sphere. Every satellite navigation system in use depends on a descendant of that model: without it there is no centimetre accuracy. This lecture sets out the mathematics and the working life it came from. Free, in the Education Centre.

Where
1 Kensington Gore, SW7 2AR
Nearest station
South Kensington · 10 min walk

Hours

Thursday 8 October 2026: 18:30 – 19:45

Hours from the page that lists them, checked 15 September 2026.

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