A self-described "little farm girl" in the Jim Crow Era, Gladys West's complex and pioneering work for the U.S. Navy helped to improve billions of lives — and keep us from getting lost.

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Brightline West announced another round of field investigation work projects in Southern California. The work in preparation for ...

Gladys West went from a one-room schoolhouse in rural Virginia to college and to working on planetary motions and modeling. "I really did like geometry," she said of her high school years. "I fell in ...