MAR Y W. J AC KS O N THE FI RST BLACK FEMALE ENGI NEER AT NASA Mary Jackson believed her love of science and her commitment to improving the lives of the people around her were one in the same thing. A huge part of her work included: overcoming the barriers of segregation and gender bias, as well as helping young people realise the opportunities available for black scientists and ensuring equal opportunities for future generations. (9th April 1921 – 11th February 2005) Jackson grew up in Hampton, Virginia. She earned a Bachelor of Science In 1951, she landed a job at the Langley Degrees in Mathematics and Physical Science at the Hampton Institute in Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in the segregated West Area Computing section, 1942. Following her graduation, Jackson went on to be hired as a teacher reporting to the group’s supervisor, at a black school in Calvert County, Maryland, serve the city’s black Dorothy Vaughan. population as a receptionist at the King Street USO Club, a bookkeeper in Hampton Institute’s Health Department, and then as an Army secretary at Fort Monroe. “Every time we have a chance to get ahead they move the finish line. Every time.” - Mary Jackson After two years of computing, Jackson received an offer to work for an engineer called Kazimierz Czarnecki, to work on a 4ft by 4ft Supersonic Pressure Tunnel capable of creating winds approaching twice the speed of sound. Jackson was offered hands-on experience and eventually suggested she undertake training to earn a promotion from mathematician to engineer. She needed special permission to join her white peers at the training classes as the Hampton High School was segregated at the time. Jackson faced the challenge head-on and completed the courses, earned her promotion, and became NASA’s first black engineer in 1958. Her work revolved around understanding air flow, with the aim to improve the aerodynamics of planes. After achieving the most senior title within the engineering department, she took a demotion in order to work in the Equal Opportunity Specialist field, to make changes, support and highlight women and other minorities in the field. For nearly two decades, Jackson revelled in her productive engineering career while authoring and co-authoring numerous research reports and focussing on the boundary layer of air around airplanes. But as the years progressed, Jackson found the promotions were slowing and she became frustrated at not being able to land a job at a managerial level. In 1979, she made a drastic career change and left engineering to take a demotion to In 2016, the film Hidden Figures was made to honour the fill the position of Langley’s Federal Women’s Program history of the team of female African-American mathematicians Manager. Whilst there, she worked hard to impact the hiring of who served a vital role in the early development of NASA. The the next generation of all of NASA’s female mathematicians, film featured an incredible cast, with Janelle Monáe as Mary scientists, and engineers. Jackson, Taraji P. Henson as Katherine G. Johnson and Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughan. COMPILED BY: Mary Jackson passed away in in 2005 but will never be forgotten. In 2020, NASA named their headquarters in Washington DC after her. The building sits on Hidden Figures Way, as a reminder to all that Mary is one of the incredibly talented professionals who contributed to NASA’s success. .