In June 2020, NASA announced that its headquarters building in Washington, D.C., would be named after Mary W. Jackson, the first Black female engineer at NASA.
Mary's daughter, Carolyn Lewis, expressed the family's pride, stating, "We are honored that NASA continues to celebrate the legacy of our mother and grandmother, Mary W. Jackson. She was a scientist, humanitarian, wife, mother, and trailblazer who paved the way for thousands of others to succeed, not only at NASA, but throughout this nation."
Mary began her career in the segregated West Area Computing Unit at the agency's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
As a mathematician and aerospace engineer, she played a crucial role in leading programs that influenced the hiring and promotion of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers at NASA.
The work of the West Area Computing Unit gained national attention through the 2016 book "Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race" by Margot Lee Shetterly.
This book was later adapted into a popular movie in which award-winning actress Janelle Monáe portrayed Jackson's character.
Mary was born and raised in Hampton, Virginia. After high school, she graduated from Hampton Institute in 1942 with dual degrees in mathematics and physical sciences.
Initially, she accepted a job as a math teacher in Calvert County, Maryland. Later on, she worked as a bookkeeper, married Levi Jackson, started a family, and served as a U.S. Army secretary before embarking on her aerospace career.
In 1951, Mary was recruited by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which NASA succeeded in 1958.
She began her career as a research mathematician and became known as one of the human computers at Langley. Mary worked under fellow "Hidden Figure" Dorothy Vaughan in the segregated West Area Computing Unit.
After two years in the computing pool, she received an offer to work in the 4-foot by 4-foot Supersonic Pressure Tunnel, a 60,000 horsepower wind tunnel capable of simulating winds approaching twice the speed of sound. There, she gained valuable hands-on experience conducting experiments.
Her supervisor eventually encouraged her to enter a training program that would promote her from mathematician to engineer.
Because the classes were held at the then-segregated Hampton High School, Mary required special permission to attend classes with her white peers.
After completing the courses, she earned the promotion.
Throughout her nearly two-decade engineering career, she authored or co-authored numerous research reports, primarily focused on the behavior of the boundary layer of air around airplanes.
In 1979, she joined Langley’s Federal Women's Program, where she worked diligently to improve the hiring and promotion of the next generation of female mathematicians, engineers, and scientists. Mary retired from Langley in 1985.
