She was one of a group of black women mathematicians at NASA and its predecessor who were celebrated in the 2016 movie “Hidden Figures.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/24/science/katherine-johnson-dead.html
"Her dedication and skill as a mathematician helped put humans on the Moon and before that made it possible for our astronauts to take the first steps in space that we now follow on a journey to Mars."
Ms Johnson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. Then-US President Barack Obama later cited her in his State of the Union address as an example of the country's spirit of discovery.
This is the math that made Katherine Johnson — one of NASA’s “Hidden Figures” — a legend
Johnson, who died Monday at age 101, did groundbreaking work in helping return astronauts safely to Earth.
"The public needs more diverse role models in science. “When you think about what a scientist means, you probably think of an Einstein figure — a man in a lab or at a chalkboard with fuzzy, unkempt hair,” as my Vox colleague Julia Belluz has written. “When you think of a scientist’s voice, you might conjure Neil deGrasse Tyson or Carl Sagan. With these voices and images so pervasive in our culture, it’s easier to associate ‘scientist’ with ‘man’ — and in particular, ‘white man.’”
Women scientists like Vera Rubin, Nettie Stevens, Henrietta Leavitt, Rosalind Franklin, Johnson and so many others ought to be just as famous. Today, too many women — and minorities — still feel unwelcome in many corners of science. Johnson’s legacy shows them they have every right to be there."
