Black Women in Technology
As a woman-owned business we wanted to celebrate Black History Month by honoring the lives and contributions of historic Black women in technology. So often referred to as “hidden figures,” their history and achievements are still not widely known or taught. Because of that, we want to share with you five Black women who changed technology:
Dr. Gladys West
Dr. West’s career began in 1956, where she became the second black woman ever to be hired to work at the Naval Proving Ground (now known as the Naval Surface Warfare Center). Dr. West was a programmer and project manager for data-processing systems used in the analysis of satellite data. West’s work continued with analyzing data from satellites and putting together models of the Earth’s shape, including being project manager for the Seasat radar altimetry project, the first satellite that could remotely sense oceans.
Through the mid 1970s and 80s, Dr. West programmed an IBM 7030 Stretch computer that could deliver increasingly precise calculations to model the shape of the Earth, this model became the basis for the Global Positioning System (GPS)
After retiring in 1988, Dr. West completed her PhD in Public Administration from Virginia Tech. In December of 2018, she was inducted into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame.
Valerie Thomas
Valerie Thomas is best known for inventing the illusion transmitter, early 3D technology still used today by NASA. Before an illustrious 30+ year career with NASA, Valerie Thomas came from our own Baltimore, Maryland. Thomas graduated from Morgan State University, where she was one of two women majoring in physics. She graduated in 1964 with the highest honors. That same year Thomas began working for NASA as a data analyst where she developed real-time computer data systems to support satellite operations control centers.
Thomas oversaw the creation of the Landsat program, becoming an international expert in Landsat data products. This program expanded on the works of other NASA scientists in pursuit of the ability to visualize Earth from space. Valerie Thomas eventually became the Associate Chief of NASA Space Science Data Operations until her retirement in 1995, credited with being the true creator of 3D imagery.
Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson
After becoming the first Black woman to have earned a doctorate from MIT (specializing in physics), Dr. Jackson went on to work at AT&T Bell Laboratories studying materials for semiconductors and eventually researching optical and electronic properties of two-dimensional and quasi-two dimensional systems. While it is still debated, many believe that her research while working at Bell Laboratories led to others inventing the portable fax, touch-tone telephones, and the technology behind called ID and call waiting.
Dr. Jackson received the National Medal of Science in 2015, and currently serves as the director of IBM Corporation, FedEx Corporation, Medtronic Inc., and Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated in addition to being President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Katherine Johnson
Finishing high school at 14, Katherine Johnson enrolled in West Virginia State, where she graduated summa cum laude with degrees in mathematics and French at 18. Beyond this, Johnson was one of three Black students selected to integrate West Virginia University graduate school.
Johnson began her aerospace career with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, where she worked as a computer. When NASA superseded NACA in 1958, Johnson then worked as an aerospace technologist in the Spacecraft Controls Branch until her retirement. Johnson was responsible for the calculations that made the manned space missions of the early 1960’s possible, including the flight of Alan Shepard, the first American in space, as well as the 1969 moon landing.
Johnson received the National Medal of Science in 2015.
Dr. Marsha Williams
Dr. Marsha Williams is known to many as an incredible professor and advocate for minority representation in STEM fields. This is all possible because she is living advocacy. In 1982, Marsha Williams became the first the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D, in computer science upon graduation from Vanderbilt Univeristy - her dissertation examined the emerging field of user experience in querying large databases.
Upon graduation Dr. Williams went on to work and hold faculty positions at the University of Mississippi, Memphis State University, Fisk University, and most recently at Tennessee State University. She also worked for IBM and was an NSF fellow. Dr. Williams is a pioneering Black woman in STEM, through both her actions and advocacy.
We hope that this generation of Black women in technology will inspire the next one, who should have their contributions and accomplishments celebrated in real-time, and not be seen years later as hidden figures. From Dr. Marsha Williams to Valerie Thomas, technology would not be what it is today without them, and for that we are forever grateful.