Women’s History Month: Exploring Women’s Impact in Engineering

March 8, 2024

Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate the extraordinary accomplishments of women throughout the ages and their contributions in the STEM fields.

Cabe Atwell

Related To: Electronic Design

Dorothy Vaughan, mathematician, teacher, human computer

Dorothy Vaughan is regarded as one of the greatest mathematicians ever to work at NASA, but her accolades go back to NASA’s precursor institution NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics).

Dorothy initially worked as a math teacher in Virginia for 14 years to help her family through the Great Depression. By 1943, Dorothy began a 28-year career as a mathematician and programmer at the Langley Research Center, where she specialized in calculations for flight paths, the Scout Project, and computer programming.

After working at Langley, Dorothy was hired by NACA and eventually became head of the institution’s segregated “West Area Computing” unit, an all-black group of female mathematicians. By 1958, the NACA folded and became NASA, where she played a crucial role in the success of the Mercury and Apollo missions by supervising a team of African-American women mathematicians known as "human computers."

Dorothy was instrumental in transitioning from manual calculations to digital computing, becoming an expert in programming the newly introduced IBM computers, which she then taught to her colleagues. She retired from NASA in 1971, but her legacy lives on in the generations that followed in her footsteps.

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This gallery is part of the TechXchange: Workers in Science & Engineering (WISE).

With Women’s History Month upon us, we honor some of the contributions women engineers and scientists have made over the decades. Despite facing some systemic societal barriers and stereotypes, women engineers have made significant strides in the engineering fields, leaving their notable mark in the STEM space and paving the way for future generations.

From designing groundbreaking inventions to spearheading innovative projects, these trailblazing women have shattered expectations and challenged traditional norms. Their talents, resilience, and ingenuity are a lasting testament to their undeniable skill and character. It’s on that note that we highlight the accomplishments of some of the most extraordinary women in engineering and science history, along with their achievements and enduring impact on shaping the technological world of today.