Image courtesy of Wikipedia

One of the most famous female computer scientists is Grace Hopper. Born in New York City in 1906, Hopper’s parents always encouraged her intellectual pursuits. Hopper was a very curious child and wanted to understand how things worked, and even took seven different clocks apart in the process!

Hopper received her B.A. in Mathematics and Physics from Vassar College in New York, and went on to get her masters in the same subjects from Yale University. In 1934 she received a PhD in mathematics from Yale University as well (“‘Amazing Grace”’ Murray Hopper”).

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, Hopper wanted to join the United States navy. She was initially rejected because of her small size and age (35 years), however, due to her persistence she was able to join the U.S. Naval Women’s Reserve (“Grace Hopper”).

In the Navy, Hopper worked with the MARK I,“the first electromechanical computer in the United States” (“Biography of Grace Murray Hopper” ). This computer made calculations vital to the war effort, such as “computing rocket trajectories, creating range tables for new anti-aircraft guns, and calibrating mine sweepers.” Hopper also was the first person to use the term “bug” to describe unexpected computing behavior after a moth flew into the circuits of Mark I (“Grace Hopper”).

Image courtesy of Yale News

After World War II, Hopper turned her efforts to making computing accessible to the everyday person. Hopper developed the first compiler. Basically, a compiler translates a computer program into “machine code” that the computer can read. Originally, computer programming required the use of solely symbols, so it wasn’t usable to the average person. Hopper, however, pushed for the idea that computer programming languages should use English words instead of symbols. Her collogues told her it was impossible, but Hopper proved them wrong. Hopper and her team created “FLOW-MATIC,” “the first programming language to use word commands” (“Biography of Grace Hopper”).  Hopper also was the lead in developing COBOL, also known as “common business-oriented language,” to be used by businesses. In the 1970s, COBOL was the “most extensively used programming language in the world” (“Biography of Grace Hopper”).

Hopper’s greatest legacy is her ability to communicate her ideas and bring computing to the masses. In a 1980 interview, she claimed “I’ve come to feel that there is no use doing anything unless you can communicate.” Hopper had incredible foresight and saw the amazing impact computing could have on our everyday lives.

Image courtesy of Medium

Hopper retired from the U.S. navy in 1986 at the age of 79. On November 22, 2016, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Grace Hopper with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Every year since 1994, thousands of women from around the world come to the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing to network, learn new skills, and celebrate the great achievements of this cool tech lady.

Sources

“Biography of Grace Murray Hopper.” Biography of Grace Murray Hopper | Office of the President, president.yale.edu/biography-grace-murray-hopper.

“‘Amazing Grace’ Murray Hopper.” Cyber Heroes of the Past: Valdemar Poulsen, wvegter.hivemind.net/abacus/CyberHeroes/Hopper.htm.

“Grace Hopper.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1 Jan. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Grace-Hopper.

This week, we will now discuss a woman who’s greatness is finally being acknowledged by society for her extraordinary intellect: Ada Lovelace.

Image courtesy of the Smithsonian

The brilliant woman we now know as Ada Lovelace was born as the “Honourable August Ada Byron.” She was the only legitimate child of the poet Lord Byron, and her mother was Baroness Anne Isabella Milbanke. Lord Byron and Baroness Milbanke soon separated, however, as Byron was busy having an affair with his half sister (yikes). Lord Byron and the Baroness legally separated, and the Baroness went on to be a philanthropist, supporting the middle and working class and even fugitive slaves (“Ada Lovelace: Victorian Computing Visionary”).

Because of her mother’s wealth, Ada was extremely well educated despite the fact she could not formally attend school due to her gender. Her mother encouraged Ada’s study of math and science because she feared that if Ada turned to poetry Ada would start becoming mad like her father. Thankfully for her mother, Ada loved science and math, and designed her first flying machine that was eventually patented when she was a mere twelve years old (“Ada Lovelace: Victorian Computing Visionary”).

While Ada was married at age nineteen and soon had children, she did not let family life slow her down. She asked Augustus De Morgan, a prominent mathematician, to be her tutor. De Morgan studied symbolic logic, a subject all computer science students must cry overstudy today. He saw her brilliance and said that if she had been born male, she would have been “an original mathematical investigator, perhaps of first-rate eminence” (Miller).

Lovelace’s first exposure to computing was from British inventor Charles Babbage. He had the idea of an “Analytical Engine” to solve math problems. Lovelace spent decades corresponding with Babbage about this machine. She added a “notes” section to Babbage’s paper about the machine, nearly tripling the document’s length. In this section, she outlines the first computer programs, which is why she is considered the world’s first computer programmer. Lovelace wrote about “the abstract principles of computation, how you could program [the machine], and big ideas like maybe it could compose music, maybe it could think” (Miller).

Image of Analytical Engine Courtesy of Science Museum

Clearly, Lovelace was way beyond her time. Unfortunately, however, Lovelace was very sickly throughout her life and eventually developed uterine cancer. She died when she was merely thirty-six years old, and was buried next to her father.  Her work was rediscovered by the computer scientist Alan Turing during World War II, and helped form understanding of computing today (“Ada Lovelace: Victorian Computing Visionary”).

Image courtesy of Elf Agency

Sources

Charman-Anderson, Suw. “Ada Lovelace: Victorian Computing Visionary.” Ada Lovelace Day, findingada.com/shop/a-passion-for-science-stories-of-discovery-and-invention/ada-lovelace-victorian-computing-visionary/.

Miller, Claire Cain. “Ada Lovelace, Mathematician Who Wrote the First Computer Program.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Mar. 2018, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/obituaries/overlooked-ada-lovelace.html.

We all know about cool guys in STEM; you could hardly consider yourself educated if you didn’t know who Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, or Nikola Tesla are. Too often, however, we forget about the cool ladies that have impacted STEM. With this blog, I hope to educated my readers about interesting women in technology, past and present, and hopefully inspire my fellow ladies to study/keep studying STEM. Today I am going to start with the story of Katherine Johnson, the star of the recent box-office hit “Hidden Figures.”

Image accessed from Wikipedia

“Do your best and like what you do.” This is a motto that Katherine Johnson, a former mathematician at NASA, lives by. Growing up in West Virginia, she credits much of her success to her family’s encouragement. During her 33 year career at NASA, she worked on several key projects, such as Mercury and the Apollo missions. In addition to her technical accomplishments, Johnson exhibits strong character and humbleness, making her a true American hero. Johnson’s West Virginia origins, amazing accomplishments, and strong character make her an inspiration to me.

Katherine Johnson was born in White Sulfur Springs, WV and attended high school and college in West Virginia. She credits much of her success to her parents encouragement. Her father always told her “You are no better than anyone else, and no one is better than you.” Originally a farmer, her father moved into town so his four children could attend high school and college. He always emphasized the importance of education and made it his goal that all four of his children would receive college degrees. Katherine Johnson was a prodigy, and skipped several grades. She was always counting, and had a strong desire to learn (Hughes). As a West Virginia native, I feel particularly connected to Johnson’s childhood. I have visited many of the places she inhabited and grew up in a similar cultural environment. Much stigma surrounds this beautiful state, and Johnson’s story empowers me to overcome these stereotypes.

Although she received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and completed graduate work, Katherine Johnson was not able to fulfill her dream of being a research mathematician until she was thirty-five years old, when NASA (then known as NACA) opened an African American computing unit. Johnson was still motivated to pursue her goal, and accomplished many great things throughout her career. In one of her first projects, she analyzed the black box data of a propeller plane to figure out why it fell out of the sky. By plotting and analyzing the data, she helped engineers discover that larger planes can leave disturbances in the air for up to thirty minutes after they pass through, causing the propeller crash. Johnson also successfully calculated the desired launch site for Project Mercury, the United State’s first human space flight mission. Working backwards from the desired landing site and taking the earth’s rotation in account, she was able to plot the path for astronaut Alan Shepard’s (first American in space) flight path and determine the optimal launch site. Additionally, astronaut John Glenn insisted that she check the orbital calculations of the IBM 7090 computer and stated if she said the numbers were correct he was ready to launch. Glenn’s mission was successful and he became the first American to orbit Earth.

In many of her interviews, Johnson states that the accomplishments she is most proud of are the Apollo missions. She assisted with the calculations that synchronized the moon-orbiting Command and Service module with Apollo’s Lunar Lander. She worked on the Space Shuttle system and by the time she retired after 33 years at NASA she had authored or co authored 26 research reports. In 2015, President Barack Obama awarded Johnson the presidential medal of freedom, the highest honor a civilian can receive.

Image courtesy of Business Insider

Johnson, however, is extremely humble about her accomplishments, and at the time of her work was not very aware of all the barriers she was breaking. Instead of focusing on the challenges society gave her in her interviews, she gives advice for young people to accomplish their goals. In many of her interviews (WHROTV), she encourages young people to “do your best, and like what you do. If you don’t like what you do, you won’t do your best.” She always tried to find the root of questions, and to continue to answer questions throughout her life and career.

As a NASA intern for two summers, Johnson’s story is especially inspiring to me; she is a true American hero. Instead of using the obstacles she faced as excuses to not achieve, she overcame her obstacles. Instead of condemning society for the hardships it gave her, she maintains a positive outlook on life. She always worked hard, and instilled this value in her children. Patriotism, pride in one’s work, and humbleness are three things I highly value, and Johnson exemplifies all these virtues.

Katherine Johnson inspires me to not let my origins or gender limit what I may accomplish. Instead of letting the roadblocks in her path serve as excuses to not accomplish her goals, she effectively overcame her obstacles so she could get her work done. Her desires in life were simple, but impactful: research math, and surround herself with other intelligent people. Because of her humility and strong character, Katherine Johnson is my hero.

Image courtesy of Makers

If you want to learn more about Katherine Johnson, I highly recommend you watch this interview.

Bibliography

Hughes, June. “BIOGRAPHY: Katherine Johnson, Space Scientist.” The Heroine Collective, 8 Sept. 2015, www.theheroinecollective.com/katherine-johnson-space-scientist

Loff, Sarah. “Katherine Johnson Biography.” NASA, NASA, 22 Nov. 2016, www.nasa.gov/content/katherine-johnson-biography.

WHROTV. “What Matters – Katherine Johnson: NASA Pioneer and ‘Computer.’” YouTube, YouTube, 25 Feb. 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8gJqKyIGhE.