KATHERINE JOHNSON
The #African #American #mathematician (and probably the only person ever) who was considered to be more precise and reliable than #computers.
Featuring artwork & words by Dr. Eleonora Adami, Sci-Illustrate Stories. Set in motion by Dr. Radhika Patnala.
Katherine Johnson is an African American mathematician known for having calculated orbital mechanics of several early NASA missions, which led to the launch of the first American astronauts to space and made the lunar landing possible.
Katherine’s mathematical prowess showed early in life and set her apart from peers. At a family gathering in 1952, a relative mentioned reading about a job opening for mathematicians at NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), which later became NASA.
At that time the use of computers was not common and calculations had to be manually performed…So mathematicians came in handy.
Thus, in 1953, Katherine was hired to read data and perform complex calculations; she essentially worked as a “coloured computer”, as the tag outside her office stated. Katherine was in fact required to eat and work in dedicated locations, in accordance to state and federal segregation laws.
Women were also not allowed to sign reports on which they worked. No credit for their efforts! She became the first woman to put her name on a report after a colleague, Ted Skopinski, refused to co-author something he merely contributed to.
In the following years Katherine aided in the transition to the use of electronic computers. The system connecting the computing units suffered from frequent blackouts and at first no one trusted the machines; She was considered much more reliable and precise. A famous anecdote sees the astronaut John Glenn asking NASA engineers to “get the girl” — our Katherine — so that she could personally verify the calculations for his orbital mission: “If she says they’re good, then I’m ready to go”.
Author of 26 research papers, she retired in 1986 and her outstanding career at NASA paved the way for establishing the Space Shuttle program. She even worked in early plans of missions to Mars.
In 2015, Barack Obama awarded the 97-yo Katherine the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which constitutes the highest civilian honor in US.
REFs / if you want to know more:
Katherine in pop culture:
Barbie
https://www.geekwire.com/2018/hidden-figures-no-barbie-dolls-honor-nasas-katherine-johnson-16-women/
In 2018 Mattel announced a series of dolls inspired by successful women. Katherine Johnson is one of them!
Movies
Hidden Figures (2016)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4846340/
About the author and artist
DR. ELEONORA ADAMI
Content editor and contributing artist
Women in Science, Sci-Illustrate Stories
Eleonora is a proud descendant of ancient Romans. Besides that, she is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at Duke-NUS in Singapore, working in the cardiovascular and metabolic diseases area. She has a biotechnology (BSc) and functional genomics (MSc) background, and has obtained her PhD in molecular biology and genetics in Germany before going to the far east.
Eleonora thinks of herself as a carrier pigeon, always on the go, trying to find new adventures and challenges. Ok, maybe pigeons are not very adventurous, but they were once useful to deliver important messages. One of the messages she likes to bring across is that we need more art in scientific practices. Creative thinking benefits both disciplines.
A passion for illustration has always accompanied her and percolates in her scientific work. She started the collaboration with the Sci-Illustrate team after attending their course on scientific illustration.
About this series:
Not enough can be said about the amazing Women in Science who did and continue to do their part in moving the world forward.
Every month, through the artwork & words of the Sci-Illustrate team, we will bring to you profiles of women who touched our hearts (and brains) with their scientific works, and of many more who currently hold the flag high in their own fields!
-Dr. Radhika Patnala, Series Director
