Sonal Shah

17.4K posts

Sonal Shah

Sonal Shah

@SonalRShah

Pragmatist. Solving Problems. Former @TexasTribune I @UnitedWay I @TAAF I @BeeckCenter | boards: @ConsumerReports @Internews

Austin, TX Katılım Eylül 2012
2.5K Takip Edilen14K Takipçiler
Sonal Shah retweetledi
Science girl
Science girl@sciencegirl·
The world has lost a mind whose work guides us every day. Gladys West, a pioneering mathematician whose contributions helped make modern GPS possible, has passed away at 95, peacefully on January 2026, surrounded by family and friends. West’s mathematical models of the Earth’s shape became a critical foundation for satellite navigation, allowing precise positioning anywhere on the globe. Her work helps guide everything from airplanes and ships to smartphones and emergency services, though she once joked that she still preferred using paper maps. Born in 1930 in rural Virginia, West grew up in the South, working on her family’s farm and walking miles to a one-room schoolhouse. She originally planned to study home economics, but discovered a love for geometry that led her to pursue mathematics. A scholarship took her to Virginia State College, where she earned her degree and later a master’s in mathematics. In 1956, she joined a U.S. Navy research facility in Dahlgren, Virginia. Over a 42-year career, West worked with early computers to develop algorithms that accounted for the Earth’s irregular shape, gravity, and tidal forces, refinements that were essential for accurate satellite positioning. Without the mathematical groundwork she helped establish, the global navigation systems used today would not function as they do. For most of her career, West’s contributions remained largely unknown outside scientific circles. Later in life, she received major honors, including induction into the U.S. Air Force Hall of Fame and the Prince Philip Medal. She inspired generations of scientists and mathematicians.
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Texas Tribune
Texas Tribune@TexasTribune·
How teaching middle school in one of Texas’ poorest neighborhoods spurred James Talarico’s U.S. Senate bid bit.ly/49JX2IR
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Texas Tribune
Texas Tribune@TexasTribune·
A Cuban detainee’s death at an El Paso federal immigration detention center was ruled a homicide Wednesday, with the medical examiner finding he was suffocated while restrained, contradicting immigration officials’ claim that he died by suicide. texastribune.org/2026/01/21/tex…
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ᶜᵒᵐᵐᵉᶰᵗᵃʳʸ Q(MEGA TRUMP)
I'm 45 years old, and today at 3am, I finally became a father!. My wife and I are orphans, and no one has congratulated us. May all who bless us be blessed in return!.
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Crazy Vibes
Crazy Vibes@CrazyVibes_1·
"This is Garrick, an employee of yours working flight 1264 flying from Orlando to Newark on Friday, July 8th and holding his arm is my 9 year old daughter, Gabby, a type 1 diabetic with severe flying anxiety. Upon take off he noticed she was struggling. Throughout the flight he tried making her laugh and bringing her special drinks. As we were getting closer, weather was rough and there was a bit of turbulence. Gabby began having a complete panic attack on descent. He came up to the front and asked if she would like for him to sit next to her in the empty seat. I was flying without my husband with two other smaller children and couldn't leave my row, in the photo she is holding my hand from across the aisle. She happily accepted his offer. He suggested they talk to distract her from thinking about the landing so they talked for around 30 minutes about everything from his daughter who is the same age to her pets to what grade she is going into. During extremely rough turbulence she began crying and grabbed his arm, he gently told her she could hang on as long as she needed to. Just after this due to the extreme stress she was under her blood sugars began dangerously crashing. He got up from his seat to get her an orange juice and came right back to sit with her. She asked again if she could continue to hold his arm while the plane was landing. He of course agreed. Once on the ground while taxiing to the gate he came on the intercom and announced that his friend, Gabby, in the front row overcame her fears of flying and asked for a round of applause. The whole plane clapped for her. It was a wonderful experience on Southwest. We are forever grateful to have met such a beautiful, selfless soul." - Let this story reach more hearts ❤️ Credit: Erika Jeorgean Swart
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