August 26, 1918 – February 24, 2020

A West Virginia girl who “loved to count everything” and inspirational mathematician, Katherine Johnson grew up to be awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom and have two NASA buildings named for her. She was one of the now-famous NASA human computers portrayed in the 2016 movie “Hidden Figures”.

Johnson’s early curiosity and math skills propelled her to graduate from high school at 14 and earn an honors college degree in Mathematics and French. She was one of 3 students handpicked to integrate the University of West Virginia graduate school, though she dropped out to teach and raise a family. At age 34, she accepted a job at NASA in an all-Black unit doing tedious hand calculations of flight trajectories. Her skills, maturity, and persistence led her to the Flight Research Division, where she initiated and developed early orbital models for astronaut flights. She was instrumental in the adoption of the new electronic computers when they became available as well as verifying the calculations that were produced.

When asked about her important contributions, Johnson noted the orbital linking calculations for the Apollo Lunar Lander and Command Modules, as well as later work on the Space Shuttle and Landsat Satellite. She was author or co-author of 26 NASA research reports. Incredibly, this charismatic and gregarious mathematician accomplished all this while breaking the dual barriers of racism and sexism.

NASA has dedicated two buildings to her: the Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Center in Virginia and the Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility in West Virginia. In 2020, NASA launched a satellite named for her. Locally, the new Katherine Johnson Technology Magnet Academy in DeSoto is named for her.

Education

• High school degree, Minneapolis School, Kansas
• Studied at Simpson College, Iowa – art and music
• BS and Master Degrees, science, botany, Iowa State

Special Affiliations, Awards, and Honors

• Honorary PhD degree —Simpson College, Selma University, Iowa State

Quote

“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.”