Mary W. Jackson
contributorScience, Computing & Medicine
Research mathematician who became NASA's first Black woman aerospace engineer and later worked to improve advancement opportunities for women across Langley Research Center.
- Primary role
- NASA aerospace engineer
- Lifespan
- 1921–2005
- Relationships
- 5
- Sources
- 3
Biography
Place in spaceflight history
Jackson conducted wind-tunnel and flight-data research on boundary-layer behavior at supersonic speeds, authored or coauthored twelve technical publications, and later managed programs intended to improve the hiring and promotion of women at NASA Langley.
Her work joined rigorous aeronautical engineering with institutional change, expanding both NASA's technical knowledge and access to aerospace careers.
Mary W. Jackson’s archive record spans Research mathematician, Aerospace engineer, Federal Women's Program manager through work connected with NACA Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, NASA Langley Research Center. The linked record places that work within NACA aeronautical research, NASA supersonic aerodynamics, Apollo-era engineering.
Career profile
Roles, organizations, and programs
Roles
- Research mathematician
- Aerospace engineer
- Federal Women's Program manager
Programs
- NACA aeronautical research
- NASA supersonic aerodynamics
- Apollo-era engineering
Archive relationships
Named records, programs, and organizations connected to this archive identity.
- NACA Langley Memorial Aeronautical LaboratoryCanonical organization
- NASA Langley Research CenterCanonical organization
- NACA aeronautical researchSpaceflight program
- NASA supersonic aerodynamicsSpaceflight program
- Apollo-era engineeringSpaceflight program
Sources
Original references supporting this record. Each source opens on its publisher’s website.