玛丽·W·杰克逊肖像揭晓

On Dec. 6, 2024, NASA leaders unveiled a portrait of the late Mary W. Jackson, pioneering aerospace engineer and mathematician at NASA’s Langley Research Center. The portrait is displayed at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington.

Jackson accepted a position with the NACA Langley Aeronautical Laboratory’s segregated West Area Computers in 1951, where her supervisor was Dorothy Vaughan. In 1958, she became NASA’s first African American female engineer.

In 1979, seeing that the glass ceiling was the rule, rather than the exception for Langley’s female professionals, she made a final, dramatic career change, leaving engineering and voluntarily accepting a reduction-in-grade to serve as an administrator in the Equal Opportunity Specialist field. After undergoing training at NASA Headquarters, she returned to Langley and filled the open position of Langley’s Federal Women’s Program Manager. There, she worked hard to impact the hiring and promotion of the next generation of all of NASA’s female mathematicians, engineers and scientists. Jackson retired from Langley in 1985.

Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

2024年12月6日，NASA领导人为已故NASA兰利研究中心航空航天工程师和数学家先驱玛丽·W·杰克逊的肖像画揭幕。这幅肖像画现陈列于位于华盛顿的NASA总部玛丽·W·杰克逊大楼。

1951年，杰克逊加入了国家航空咨询委员会（NACA）兰利航空实验室的隔离西区计算部门，当时她的主管是多萝西·沃恩。1958年，她成为NASA首位非裔美国女性工程师。

1979年，杰克逊意识到在兰利的女性专业人士中，玻璃天花板现象普遍存在，因此她做出了一个重要的职业转变，离开了工程领域，主动接受降职，转而投身于平等机会专员领域的管理工作。经过在NASA总部的培训后，她回到兰利，担任联邦妇女项目的经理。在这一岗位上，她为影响下一代女性数学家、工程师和科学家的招聘与晋升而努力。杰克逊于1985年从兰利退休。

图片来源: NASA/Joel Kowsky