The Girl Who Loved to Count I. Colin Powell said, “A dream does not become a reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work”. This quote is the perfect one to describe Katherine Johnson because when she first got into NACA, they would not let women in the meetings they had to discuss the process of their projects or of their future projects. With her determination, Katherine was let into the meetings and thanks to that, she was able to do what she did. Because of all her hard work, Katherine Johnson has been recognized for doing the calculation that sent the first American to space, and overcoming the barriers of being an African American woman. (THESIS). Katherine Johnson was born in 1918, date not specified, White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia. Numbers …show more content…
Her intelligence allowed to skip through grades at a very young age. By 10 years old, she was already a high school freshman. By 18, she enrolled in West Virginia State College, where she found a mentor by the name of Professor W. W. Schieffel in Claytor. He was the third African American to earn a PhD in mathematics. When integration occurred in 1939, Dr. John W. Davis chose Katherine and two other students to get to the West Virginia University. After a while, she quit to start a family. She returned to teach and in 1952, she became interested in the West Area Computing Section at the NACA’s (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) later on called NASA (n. pag.).
Katherine Johnson was one of the women who made to calculations or the trajectory of the space mission Freedom 7 As soon as she began her work, Dorothy Vaughan put her
Katherine Coleman Johnson was the first african american woman to desegregate the graduate school at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. SHe became one of three african-american students and the only female to integrate the graduate school. After the United States Supreme Court ruling Gaines v. Canada in 1938 the court ruled that since states provided higher education to white students also had to provide it to black students. Soon after graduating college she took a teaching job in african american public school in Virginia. She did teaching for a little but her passion was math. Katherine Coleman Johnson was motivated towards math because she loved numbers. She loved counting numbers, she loved doing equations. So she became one of the first african american female
There are a variety of areas in the science field that African Americans have participated. There were Chemists, Biochemists, Biologists, Physicists, and many others. There were people like Herman Branson who was an assistant professor of chemistry and physics at Howard University who help prepare many young students for the science field. Dr. Branson became a full professor of physics and was made chairman of the physics department of Howard University from 1941 to 1968. He had research interests in mathematical biology and protein structure.
America went to the moon in the 1960’s, during a time of war, a time that was so far behind in technology compared to now, but yet human beings went to the moon . Human beings are capable of many wonderful things and their potential has no limits, except for the limits that are placed by government and society. Neil deGrasse Tyson attempted to liberate NASA from the limits of low funding by giving a speech to the U.S Senate. Tyson used emotion and logical thinking to make the complexity of NASA as relatable to the audience as possible, and by doing so he wanted to convey to them how important NASA is in our society today and the future of the human kind.
Allen, Linda. "Shirley Jackson's Bio." Shirley Jackson's. N.p., 1 Jan. 2009. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
Throughout film history, many top charted movies are surrounded by mathematical equations and themes. For instance, Hidden Figures is based upon a true story of a female mathematician breaking the glass ceiling in NASA. Katherine Johnson, played by Taraji P. Henson, tells the story of the Space Race during the Cold War and the United States fight to be first in space. What is so interesting about the character and the story is that Katherine Johnson is a black woman in the midst of the civil rights battle in America. This film creates discussions about the international fight for black women across the globe. Even though the movie has a powerful message, there is an underlying message about the equality of math throughout the movie. From the ancient method used to prove the numbers to the message of equality and hope, Hidden Figures is a film that will never be forgotten to any mathematician.
Dorothy Vaughn is a diversity change agent because she saw an opportunity for growth within NASA and capitalized on it. She recognized the IBM computer would equate to job loss for the West (African American) computers; however, instead of standing by as Vivian Mitchell’s (Kirsten Dunst) team did, she prepared. Dorothy risked her freedom numerous times along the journey including, taking the computer programming book from the library and the frequent visits to the IBM room. She not only taught herself how to program and operate the computer, she taught her entire team. This catapulted the African American women into the forefront of NASA programming, breaking through the barriers. Her desire for change came from within as the negative effects were specific to her life, not just the NASA mission.
Almost all of our teachers at Booker T. Washington were black women. They were committed to nurturing our intellect so that we could become scholars, thinkers, and cultural workers—black folks who used our "minds"…Within these segregated schools, black children who were deemed exceptional, gifted were given special care…When we entered rac...
Johnson was born on April 12, 1994, in Provo Utah, US. Apparently, Jenna Johnson is running in age 23 years. She was born to parents Tamara Jean and Curt Johnson. Jenna Johnson grew up in Provo, Utah with her 5 siblings Scott Johnson (brother), Skyler Johnson (brother), Jason Johnson (brother),
Katherine Hepburn is one of old Hollywood’s most unique and memorable stars. Her acting career lasted almost seventy years, earning her numerous awards including four Academy Awards, the most for any female actor. She has written two books, The Making of the African
Katherine Johnson is an inspiration to many people. She was a mathematician and a “computer” at NASA. She took chances and made it through. She is a remarkable women and broke the barriers. The world has not always been accepting. She even made huge contributions to space travel. Even at the time when she worked for NASA she got credit for her work. She made great achievements. “With her razor sharp mathematical mind Katherine G. Johnson helped broaden the scope of space travel…..” said President Obama. (Loff, Sarah)
On a cold winter’s morning on the 28th day of January in the year 1986, America was profoundly shaken and sent to its knees as the space shuttle Challenger gruesomely exploded just seconds after launching. The seven members of its crew, including one civilian teacher, were all lost. This was a game changer, we had never lost a single astronaut in flight. The United States by this time had unfortunately grown accustomed to successful space missions, and this reality check was all too sudden, too brutal for a complacent and oblivious nation (“Space”). The outbreak of sympathy that poured from its citizens had not been seen since President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. The disturbing scenes were shown repeatedly on news networks which undeniably made it troublesome to keep it from haunting the nation’s cognizance (“Space”). The current president had more than situation to address, he had the problematic undertaking of gracefully picking America back up by its boot straps.
Amelia Earhart once said, “Women, like men, should to do the impossible. And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others.” This is how she lived her
It is within man’s blood and nature to explore, and space is our next New World. Man’s first achievement in space travel was the launch of the Sputnik on October 4, 1957. For the next decades, space travel was roaring like a rocket, fueled by man’s desire to explore, man’s desire for knowledge, and man’s desire to beat his enemies. However, these impulses have died out as the well of government funding has been diverted to wars and debts, and the interest of the American people has been diverted to wars and debts. Amidst all these issues it is debated as to whether or not space travel is worth the money and the attention of scientists, particularly since humanity faces so many issues on earth currently. However, because of the past inventions, current services, and future benefits, space travel is indeed worth the money and attention of governments and people. It is within our hands to control man’s advancement, and space travel is the next venue to do so.
Her parents were so proud of her but it was hard deciding where Katherine would go to school. Her town did not have a school for African Americans after the eighth grade. Her parents decided she would attend the high school on the campus of historically black West Virginia State College. This school was 120 miles from their home but the family packed
Born in Hampton, Virginia, mathematician and aeronautical engineer Mary Jackson is an unsung hero of social justice and the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Jackson excelled academically, graduating from high school with honors and then earning a dual degree in Mathematics and Physics from Hampton University. She had several jobs before working for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA, currently known as NASA) but it was not until she worked for them as a “human computer” that she had the chance to truly let her talents shine. At NACA, computers like Jackson calculated the answers to long, complex equations by hand. These very equations are the ones that advanced the United States’ position in the Space Race and enabled Neil Armstrong to safely land on the moon.