Katherine Johnson was an African-American mathematician whose work was fundamental at NASA. Her precise calculations helped ensure the success of the...

Katherine Johnson's pioneering contributions to the Space Race were highlighted in the film Hidden Figures, where she was played by Taraji P. Henson

Mendola Artists Representatives Katherine Johnson - Mendola Artists Representatives

Mathematician Katherine Johnson at Work: NASA research mathematician Katherine Johnson is photographed at her desk at Langley Research Center in 1966. Johnson made critical technical contributions during her career of 33 years which included calculating the trajectory of the 1961 flight of Alan Shepard. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Nov. 24 2015.

Although advances in science and technology are often portrayed as the work of solitary men—for example, Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison, and Albert Einstein—science has always been a collective enterprise, dependent on many individuals who work behind the scenes. This has become increasingly true as more scientists work on large research projects funded by governments and staffed by hundreds of technicians. Yet despite the collaborative nature of science, for too much of its history the work of…

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A great mathematician and a civic hero, Katherine Johnson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by president Barack Obama in 2015 for her extraordinary contribution to the United States' space program.

In 1958, Mary W. Jackson became NASA's first black female engineer and now the agency is renaming its Washington DC headquarters after her that sits on 'Hidden Figures Way.'

Katherine Johnson