Janez Yvonne Lawson Bordeaux (February 22, 1930 – November 24, 1990) was an American chemical engineer who became one of NASA's computers. She was the first African-American hired into a technical position at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She programmed the IBM 701.
Janez Lawson | |
|---|---|
 Lawson in 1953 | |
| Born | February 22, 1930 |
| Died | November 24, 1990 (aged 60) |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Employer | Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
Early life and education
editLawson was born on February 22, 1930, in Santa Monica, California.[1] Her parents were Hilliard Lawson and Bernice Lawson.[1] She attended Belmont High School and graduated in 1948.[1] Lawson completed a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1952.[2] She was a straight-A student and President of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.[3]
Career
editDespite her qualifications, Lawson could not get work as a chemical engineer because of her race and gender. She saw an advertisement for a job as a computer in Pasadena.[2] There was discussion about whether or not she should get the job, but Macie Roberts stood up for her.[4] Lawson got the job, and in 1953 was one of the first Jet Propulsion Laboratory employees to be sent to a training course at IBM.[2] Lawson was the first African-American hired into a technical position at Jet Propulsion Laboratory.[5] She was promoted to mathematician in 1954.[1] She became skilled at programming during the course, using a keypunch and learning speedcoding.[2] Lawson lived in Los Angeles and would commute for over an hour to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory every day.[3][6] Lawson joined the Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation in the late 1950s.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Changing the face of engineering : the African American experience. Slaughter, John Brooks, 1934-, Tao, Yu, 1978-, Pearson, Willie, 1945-. Baltimore, Maryland. December 15, 2015. ISBN 9781421418155. OCLC 924719355.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b c d Holt, Nathalia (June 11, 2016). "How Sexism Held Back Space Exploration". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
- ^ a b "How Women 'Computers' Transformed Early Space Exploration Technology - Entity". Entity. December 10, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
- ^ "The incredible story of NASA's forgotten 'Rocket Girls'". Retrieved June 22, 2018.
- ^ Smith, Yvette (January 31, 2018). "Rocket Girls and the Advent of the Space Age". NASA. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
- ^ Summary and analysis of Rise of the rocket girls : the women who propelled us, from missiles to the moon to Mars. Based on the book by Nathalia Holt. New York. May 2, 2017. ISBN 9781504046374. OCLC 984992626.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)