Katherine Johnson, the central character of the book and movie Hidden Figures, was recently honored by NASA at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new state-of-the-art building. The Root writes:
The building was dedicated on Sept. 22 in a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and students from Black Girls Code and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program.
The $23 million, 37,000-square-foot data center is named after Johnson, who broke the glass ceiling for black women in the space program. In 2015 Johnson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work as a trailblazer in the space program.
When NASA began calculating their orbital missions using electronic computers in 1962, astronauts were wary of the technology. To make sure he would be safe, John Glenn instructed scientists to “get the girl,” referring to his trust in the hand calculations by Johnson, NASA’s “human computer.”
Glad to see a great woman continue to receive the recognition she deserves. Congrats to her.