Katherine Jones was an African American female mathematician who worked on NASA formula that helped the success of the first US spaceflight program, Project Mercury. Her mathematics work was also key for the Space Shuttle program and Mars exploring mission.

She is extremely inspirational as she was one of the first African Americans who worked at NASA. In the 50s, when her career started, racial segregation was very present in US society, and it was very hard for African Americans to get good jobs. Jones was also a woman, and the science field in the 50s was very prejudicial about accepting women.

The women who did maths were referred to as "computers who wore skirts", weren't given the serious tasks and were looked down upon. Yet, Jones ignored the barriers that she faced because of her race and gender - she was courageous, assertive, self-confident and incredibly smart.

During her lifetime, she has also won many awards and was one of the topics of the movie 'Hidden Figures'.

Jones managed to endure it all and get a job at NASA, making one of the biggest mathematical breakthroughs of the 20th century. Her pioneering legacy and the huge step she made, inspired all the people of color and women in the field to be more assertive and fight for acceptance without holding back.

8 0

3 years ago