TLN 4-3-19

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NASA names facility in honor of Katherine Johnson

In 2016, the book and movie “Hidden Figures” made its mark on the world. The story follows Katherine Johnson, an incredibly intelligent and motivated mathematician, and her journey from the “Computer Pool” of NASA to the woman whose calculations made for groundbreaking space missions.

Thanks to her perseverance and the success of “Hidden Figures”, brilliant mathematician Katherine Johnson got a NASA facility named in her honor. Now the NASA facility is named the Katherine Johnson IV&V Facility – an incredible recognition. Previously named The Independent

Verification and Validation Facility (IV&V), the IV&V program ensures the safety and success of NASA’s highprofile missions. The history of “hidden figure” Katherine Johnson now has a dedicated spot within NASA and the recognition it deserves.

History of Katherine Johnson Born in 1918 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Katherine Johnson was blessed with motivating parents. In an area where education for Black people ended in eighth grade – her parents saw her mathematical talent and sent her to a high school campus. By 14 she graduated high school and by 18 she finished off her collegiate education at West Virginia State. With goals to become a research mathematician, and after Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory finally allowed for the recruitment of Black people, NASA inserted Johnson into the Computer Pool. Computer Pool In the 1950s, before computers were small enough to fit on our laps – and before they were trusted- agencies and governmental programs like NASA utilized human mathematicians, whom they called “computers.” The smallest of errors could send million-dollar shuttles off floating into space – a costly mistake they could not afford to make. That is where the Computer Pool came into play with the unbelievably complex and handwritten calculations of Black female employees. Johnson and the other talented women of the Computer Pool are the ones who figured out these calculations.

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