Katherine Johnson (1918-2020) was a brilliant American mathematician. Katherine co-authored 26 scientific papers. She worked on calculatiions of orbital mechanics at NASA and she was critical to the success of the first and subsequent US Crewed spaceflights. NASA noted her “historical role as one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist”. President Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom and is the subject in the movie Hidden Figures.
“A ship in port is safe, but that is not what ships are for. Sail out to sea and do new things.” —Grace Hopper