She was NASA's first Black female engineer.
BUILD A MONUMENT TO HER AND HER SISTERS
By Ivan Pereira 24 June 2020
Mary Winston Jackson, professional aerospace engineer and leader in ensuring equal opportunities for future generations, is seen in this undated photo.Mary Winston Jackson, professional aerospace engineer and leader in ensuring equal opportunities for future generations, is seen in this undated photo.NASAWashington D.C. renames street to honor black female NASA mathematicians
The residents of Washington D.C. gathered to celebrate Hidden Figures Way, the new street honoring the prolific achievements made by black female mathematicians during the Space Race.
Mary W. Jackson was once a "hidden figure" at NASA, but now her name will grace the agency's office in the nation's capital.
NASA announced on Wednesday that its Washington, D.C., headquarters will be renamed in honor of Jackson, the agency's first Black female engineer and who spent decades juggling complex research with pushing for more diversity in scientific fields.
"NASA facilities across the country are named after people who dedicated their lives to push the frontiers of the aerospace industry. The nation is beginning to awaken to the greater need to honor the full diversity of people who helped pioneer our great nation," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement.
Jackson, a Hampton, Virginia native, earned a degree in math and physical sciences in 1942 and worked as a teacher, bookkeeper and Army secretary before she joined NASA's predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, in 1951. She worked on several engineering projects, including ones that involved the Supersonic Pressure Tunnel, and her supervisor suggested she enter a training program to be promoted to engineer.
MORE: NASA honors 'hidden figures' who helped John Glenn orbit the Earth
Jackson needed special permission to attend the classes since they took place at the then-segregated Hampton High School. She eventually earned the promotion in 1958. As an engineer, she worked on studies mostly focused on the behavior of the boundary layer of air around airplanes, NASA said.
In 1979, she worked at Langley's Federal Women's Program and advocated for more women and minorities to be hired in math and science fields. Jackson retired in 1985, and she died about 20 years later.
"She was a scientist, humanitarian, wife, mother, and trailblazer who paved the way for thousands of others to succeed, not only at NASA, but throughout this nation," Carolyn Lewis, Jackson's daughter, said in a statement.
MORE: Katherine Johnson, mathematician and real-life subject of 'Hidden Figures,' dies at 101
Jackson's work, along with that of other Black female NASA scientists, was highlighted in the 2016 book "Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race." Janelle Monáe portrayed Jackson in the film adaptation that came out the same year.
Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington, D.C.Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington, D.C.NASA
Last year, Jackson and "Hidden Figures" colleagues Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Christine Darden were awarded Congressional Gold Medals, and Congress voted to rename the street outside NASA's D.C. headquarters Hidden Figures Way.
Mary W. Jackson was once a "hidden figure" at NASA, but now her name will grace the agency's office in the nation's capital.
NASA announced on Wednesday that its Washington, D.C., headquarters will be renamed in honor of Jackson, the agency's first Black female engineer and who spent decades juggling complex research with pushing for more diversity in scientific fields.
"NASA facilities across the country are named after people who dedicated their lives to push the frontiers of the aerospace industry. The nation is beginning to awaken to the greater need to honor the full diversity of people who helped pioneer our great nation," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement.
Jackson, a Hampton, Virginia native, earned a degree in math and physical sciences in 1942 and worked as a teacher, bookkeeper and Army secretary before she joined NASA's predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, in 1951. She worked on several engineering projects, including ones that involved the Supersonic Pressure Tunnel, and her supervisor suggested she enter a training program to be promoted to engineer.
MORE: NASA honors 'hidden figures' who helped John Glenn orbit the Earth
Jackson needed special permission to attend the classes since they took place at the then-segregated Hampton High School. She eventually earned the promotion in 1958. As an engineer, she worked on studies mostly focused on the behavior of the boundary layer of air around airplanes, NASA said.
In 1979, she worked at Langley's Federal Women's Program and advocated for more women and minorities to be hired in math and science fields. Jackson retired in 1985, and she died about 20 years later.
"She was a scientist, humanitarian, wife, mother, and trailblazer who paved the way for thousands of others to succeed, not only at NASA, but throughout this nation," Carolyn Lewis, Jackson's daughter, said in a statement.
MORE: Katherine Johnson, mathematician and real-life subject of 'Hidden Figures,' dies at 101
Jackson's work, along with that of other Black female NASA scientists, was highlighted in the 2016 book "Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race." Janelle Monáe portrayed Jackson in the film adaptation that came out the same year.
Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington, D.C.Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington, D.C.NASA
Last year, Jackson and "Hidden Figures" colleagues Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Christine Darden were awarded Congressional Gold Medals, and Congress voted to rename the street outside NASA's D.C. headquarters Hidden Figures Way.
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