THE BLACK MATHEMATICIAN
HIDDEN FIGURES PART 2
Highlighting the achievements of little-known black pioneers in the mathematical sciences
EUPHEMIA LOFTON HAYNES (1890-1980)
Euphemia Lofton Haynes was the first African American woman to earn Ph.D in mathematics. In 1943, she earned her Ph.D in Mathematics from The Catholic University of America. She worked as an advocate for African-Americans for almost 50 years, working to improve educational outcomes, and combat the effects of segregation. She taught in Washington DC public schools for 47 years and became the first woman to chair the DC School Board. She supported a lawsuit to desegregate the school system. After her death, her will of $700,000 was used by Catholic University to endow a chair and establish a student loan fund in the education department.
MAE CAROL JEMISON (1956-PRESENT)
Mae Jemison is an engineer, physician, and NASA astronaut. In 1981, she earned her doctorate in medicine from Cornell University. She worked as a general practitioner and then served two years as a volunteer in the Peace Corps. Jemison went on to become the first African-American female astronaut to visit space and did so on the Space Shuttle Endeavor. After leaving NASA, she founded her own company, the Jemison Group, which seeks to promote STEM and implement advanced technologies in schools around the world. Jemison has also taken leadership over the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) 100-Year Starship program, which seeks to advance human space travel.
LONNIE JOHNSON (1949-PRESENT)
Lonnie Johnson is an inventor and engineer who holds over 120 patents. In 1979, he became an engineer for NASA’s Jet Propulsion program and the US Air Force, working on the Galileo mission to Jupiter, the Mars Observer project, and the Cassini mission to Saturn. He earned multiple rewards from NASA for his spacecraft control systems. In addition, Johnson invented a water toy projectile gun, which later became the Super Soaker. The Super Soaker has been one of the best selling toys since its release.
KATHERINE JOHNSON (1918-PRESENT)
Katherine Johnson is a mathematician who calculated and analyzed the flight paths of spacecrafts at NASA. Her calculations of orbital mechanics were an integral part of sending many astronauts to the moon. In 1953, she began her 35 year career at NASA by working at the NACA’s West Area Computing unit. This unit was comprised of African-American women who performed complex mathematical computations by hand. At NASA, she was a member of the Space Task Group, where she played important roles in the Mercury program, Freedom 7, Friendship 7, and the Apollo 11 mission.
KATHLEEN ADEBOLA OKIKIOLU (1965-PRESENT)
Kathleen Adebola Okikiolu is a British mathematician whose work mainly focuses on elliptic differential operators. In 1991, Okikiolu earned her Ph.D in Mathematics from the University of California at Los Angeles. Her thesis was entitled “The Analogue of the Strong Szego Limit Theorem on the Torus and the 3-Sphere”. Okikiolu is known for her mathematical research and her curriculum development with inner-city children. In 1997, she became the first black recipient of Sloan Research Fellowship and was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers with a prize of $500,000.
VALERIE THOMAS (1943-PRESENT)
Valerie Thomas is a scientist and inventor who is known for her Illusion Transmitter and research contributions to NASA. In 1964, she began working for NASA as a data analyst, developing data systems for satellite operations and overseeing the Landsat program. In 1980, Thomas created the Illusion Transmitter, the first of its kind in 3-D modeling. It produces optical illusion images by using two concave mirrors. It was adopted by NASA and is the basis for many modern 3-D televisions, video games, and movies. In addition, Thomas developed a data system for the technology that supported the first satellite to transmit images from outer space.
J. ERNEST WILKINS JR. (1923-2011)
J. Ernest Wilkins Jr, was a prominent mathematician, nuclear scientist, and mechanical engineer. At the age of 13, Wilkins started attending the University of Chicago and was known as “negro genius”. In 1942, Wilkins became the seventh African-American to earn a Ph.D in Mathematics from the University of Chicago. One of his most notable achievements was working on the Manhattan Project during WWII, which produced the first nuclear weapons. Wilkins collaborated with Eugene Wigner on research in neutron absorption, which lead to the development of the Wigner-Wilkins Calculated Neutron Spectra.