Mathematician, data
analyst, & aeronautical
engineer
Youth & Studies
1962: B.S. in mathematics
from Hampton University
1967: M.S. in mathematics at
Virginia State
1983: Ph.D. in engineering at
George Washington
University
Teacher & Researcher
Earned a teaching
certificate and taught high
school mathematics briefly
Devoted much of her NASA
career to researching
supersonic flights and sonic
booms
Taught at Virginia State
University before working
for NASA
1967 began work at the
Langley Research Center
(NASA)
First African American
woman at NASA’s Langley
research center to be
promoted into the senior
executive service, the top
rank in the federal civil
service
Spent 40+ years
researching sonic booms
through different methods
and computer programs
Later Years
2007: she retired from NASA as
director of the office of strategic
communication and education
Major Contributions
Her findings in the 1960s
and 1970s resulted in an
aerodynamic design to
produce low-boom sonic
effects
In 1989, she was made
leader of the sonic boom
team
Worked to decrease
negative effects of sonic
booms, such as noise
pollution and the depletion
of the ozone layer