By: Siri Doddapaneni
Dorothy Vaughan was born in 1910 in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in a time when racial segregation was deeply entrenched in American society. Despite these challenges, she excelled academically, graduating as valedictorian of her high school class before earning a mathematics degree from Wilberforce University in 1929. Vaughan began her career as a mathematics teacher in Virginia, one of the few professional paths open to African American women at the time. However, the onset of World War II created new opportunities, and in 1943, Vaughan joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), where she became part of the "West Area Computers," a segregated group of African American women who performed complex mathematical calculations.
Vaughan’s leadership and expertise quickly set her apart, and in 1949, she was promoted to section head, making her NACA's first African American supervisor. In this role, she managed a team of mathematicians and played a crucial part in the organization's success. As electronic computers began to emerge in the 1950s, Vaughan recognized the importance of this new technology and taught herself and her team to program in FORTRAN, a key programming language of the time. Her foresight and adaptability were instrumental in transitioning from manual calculations to machine computation, contributing significantly to various NASA projects during the Space Race, including calculating trajectories and flight paths for missions like John Glenn's orbital flight in 1962. .
Despite her critical contributions, Vaughan and her colleagues often faced racial and gender discrimination, with their work largely going unrecognized by the broader public. Her efforts not only advanced NASA's mission but also paved the way for future generations of women and minorities in STEM fields. Dorothy Vaughan retired in 1971 after nearly three decades of service, and her story remained largely untold until the publication of "Hidden Figures" in 2016. This book, later adapted into a film, brought well-deserved recognition to Vaughan and her colleagues for their vital roles in the success of the U.S. space program. Vaughan passed away in 2008 at the age of 98, leaving behind a legacy as a pioneering mathematician and computer scientist who broke barriers and inspired countless others.
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