Mary Jackson was a mathematician and aerospace engineer. In 1951 she joined the West Computers at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, and in 1958 she became the first black female engineer at NASA.

Never one to flinch in the face of a challenge, Mary completed the courses, earned the promotion, and in 1958 became NASA’s first black female engineer. That same year, she co-authored her first report, Effects of Nose Angle and Mach Number on Transition on Cones at Supersonic Speeds.

“In the 1970s, she helped the youngsters in the science club at Hampton’s King Street Community center build their own wind tunnel and use it to conduct experiments” (Loff). Being helpful to others is important to this hero. She used what she knew most, engineering, and helped out kids in need.

Her math and science skills earned her a position as a “human computer” for NACA, and she later became NASA’s first Black female engineer. Along with serving a vital role in the development of the space program, she helped other women and minorities advance their careers.

When it comes to the topic of women in science, Marie Curie usually dominates the conversation. After all, she discovered two elements, was the first women to win a Nobel Prize, in 1903, and was the first person to win a second Nobel, in 1911.

Related Articles

The answer most commonly given to this question in recent years is either Singapore, China or any other East Asian country.

The 10 best mathematicians

• Hypatia (cAD360-415) Hypatia (375-415AD), a Greek woman mathematician and philosopher.
• Girolamo Cardano (1501 -1576)
• Leonhard Euler (1707- 1783)
• Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855)
• Georg Cantor (1845-1918)
• Paul Erdös (1913-1996)
• John Horton Conway (b1937)
• Grigori Perelman (b1966)