Flawless Celebrates Black History Month - Part 2: Black Pioneers in Technology
Welcome to the 2nd installment of our two-part series celebrating Black Leaders in Technology, in honor of Black History Month!
In Part One, we featured several Black Leaders shaping the Tech landscape of today, here in Part Two, we highlight 15 of the industry’s early Black Leaders who paved the way by inventing or innovating ideas and tools that enabled amazing technologies we rely upon today!
Dr. Frederick Terman: (b. 1900) Terman is considered to be the "father of Silicon Valley" for his role in fostering the growth of the high-tech industry in the region. He was a professor at Stanford University, where he encouraged his students to start their own companies and provided them with access to the university's resources. His students include William Hewlett and David Packard, the co-founders of HP.
Katherine Johnson: (b. 1918) A key figure in the Space Race. Developed mathematical solutions vital for getting us to the Moon. Her story, and that of other women working at NASA during her time, has been told in the movie Hidden Figures. A true pioneer. Katherine Johnson’s accomplishments as a woman in tech were depicted in the film “Hidden Figures”. She attended college at the age of 15 and once graduated, had the option of becoming a nurse or teacher. She started working as a teacher then applied for a job at the Langley Research Center, which is now part of NASA. She began working at Langley as a human computer and calculated the best flight path for NASA to take to space. Because of her work, NASA was able to successfully calculate the first, safe path into and out of Space. Her accomplishments also included calculating flight paths for Project Mercury and Apollo 11. In 2015, President Obama awarded Johnson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Katherine Johnson passed away at the age of 101 years old on February 24th, 2020. She is known as an American hero and her legacy with NASA will never be forgotten.
Mary Jackson: (b. 1921) A mathematician and aerospace engineer who made significant technical contributions to the NASA space program. After starting her career as a teacher, she joined NACA (later NASA) in 1951 as a human computer, analyzing data and researching airplane performance. She was selected in 1958 to work in the Supersonic Pressure Tunnel, where she analyzed high-speed wind tunnel test data to improve aircraft performance. In 1979, she became NASA's first black female engineer, one of the women featured in the movie, ‘Hidden Figures’ and she drove multiple other developments at NASA. Jackson was awarded the Apollo Group Achievement Award in 1980 for her work in improving aircraft safety.
Melba Roy Mouton: (b. 1929) Former Assistant Chief of Research Programs at NASA. Mouton’s impeccable mathematical mind saw her manage all the human computers at NASA ensuring their work enabled the US’s space programs. Just like Mary Jackson and Katherine Johnson, Melba Roy Mouton worked at NASA as a human computer and was very successful. She was appointed Head of Computer Programming at NASA and produced orbital element timetables. These timetables allowed Americans to know when satellites would pass overhead to witness and/or Spoof them. While working at NASA, she received the Apollo Achievement and Exceptional Performance Awards. She also led classes on computer programming and created seminars to further teach individuals. Her contributions to science and tech have been recognized by many.
Dr. Henry Sampson: (b. 1934) Dr. Henry Sampson is an inventor, electrical engineer, and nuclear physicist who developed the Gamma-Electric Cell, which converts radiation energy into electrical energy. He patented the technology in 1971 which was later used to power the Apollo missions, the US space program, the artificial heart, and pacemakers.
Dr. George Carruthers: (b. 1939) Dr. George Carruthers is an inventor, physicist and astronautics engineer who developed the first ultraviolet camera/spectrograph, which was sent to space in 1971 on an Apollo mission. This technology was used to study the earth's atmosphere, the moon and other celestial bodies. He was also instrumental in the development of other space technology like the Far Ultraviolet Camera for the Hubble Space Telescope.
Dr. Valerie Thomas: (b. 1943) Dr. Valerie Thomas is an inventor and engineer known for her work in the field of holography. She developed the Illusion Transmitter, a device that uses a mirror to transmit three-dimensional images over long distances; this technology has applications in fields such as telecommunications, medicine, and entertainment. Growing up in Maryland and early in her career, she had a strong fascination with technology. She later attended Morgan State University and was one of a few women to be enrolled in the Physics program. She worked for NASA as a mathematical/data analyst and developed a real-time computer data system which allowed control centers to support satellite operations. Valerie worked for NASA from 1964-1995 and conducted many experiments. Her greatest development, “Landsat” is still in use at NASA today!
Dr. Shirley Jackson: (b. 1946) Jackson is a physicist and engineer who has made significant contributions to the field of telecommunications research. She is best known for her work at Bell Labs, where she co-authored a number of papers on the theoretical underpinnings of wireless communication. She was also the first black woman to earn a PhD in theoretical physics from MIT, and the second black woman to earn a PhD in any field from MIT.
Dr. Robert L. Johnson: (b. 1946) Johnson is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and the founder of BET, Black Entertainment Television. He became the first African-American billionaire through his successful business ventures and BET network. He has also owned and operated several hotels, sports teams and media outlets.
Marian Croak: (b. 1955) The Vice President of Engineering at Google. Croak, with a Ph.D. in quantitative analysis, has driven the development of Voice Over Internet Protocol technologies that power many of the ways we interact with software today. She currently leads the engineering efforts at Google with a focus on responsible and sustainable development.
Marc Regis Hannah: (b. 1956) This Chicago native and co-founder of Silicon Graphics, Inc. is the reason we have the movies Jurassic Park, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and many more. Hannah created legendary movie graphics for the film industry and developed the 3D special effects used to provide fantastic movie experiences for viewers. Hannah started as an Electrical Engineer and Graphic Designer in the 80’s and 90's. Over the course of his career, he secured a dozen patents and received recognition from the ‘Professional Achievement Award from the Illinois Institute of Technology.’
Mark Dean: (b. 1957) Prolific Inventor, Engineer, Computer Scientist and the co-creator of the IBM personal computer. He also helped develop other revolutionary hardware like the one-gigahertz computer processor chip and the Universal Serial Bus (USB) system that allows devices such as printers and monitors to be plugged easily and directly into computers. He is now a professor at the Tickle College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee.
Corey E. Thomas: (b. 1980) President and CEO of Rapid7, Corey Thomas created a way to respond to and detect cyberattacks. The company services more than 7,000 organizations to date including Microsoft, Macy’s, Intuit, and Netflix. Thomas received his bachelor’s in computer science and electrical engineering from Vanderbilt University and his M.B.A from Harvard Business School. He has helped many companies reach the next level of tech security and influenced millions of people throughout the process.
Frank Greene: (b. 1938) Greene was an inventor and philanthropist who founded two hugely successful companies, one of which traded publicly. He earned his bachelor's degree from Washington University in St. Louis and his master’s degree at Purdue University. Greene developed high-speed computer systems at Fairchild Semiconductor R&D in the 1960s, creating huge leaps forward in silicon technology which enabled our super computers of today. He is known as one of the “first Black technologists” and later started his own technology companies, including a VC firm called NewVista Capital which focused on helping minority and female-led companies. In 2001 The Dr. Frank S. Green Scholars Programme was founded to mentor and develop young minority STEM students. In 2009 he passed away at 71 years old, but his legacy of helping others in the tech world led to his induction into the Silicon Valley Engineering Council’s Hall of Fame.
Roy Clay: (b. 1929) American computer scientist and inventor known as the Godfather of Silicon Valley. Clay developed ground-breaking software for Hewlett-Packard and has helped pave the way for African-Americans in silicon valley. Often referred to as the “Godfather of Silicon Valley,” Roy Clay Sr. attended Saint Lewis University (one of the first Black men to attend this university) where he studied computer programming. In the 1970’s, he worked in Silicon Valley as a computer consultant and became a very well-known individual in the development of HP’s computer divisions. He wrote the software that was first sold by HP in 1966 and led his team in engineering these computers. The Silicon Valley Engineering Council inducted him into the hall of fame in 2003. He was highly involved in his community and helped improve the lives of many. According to the Silicon Valley Engineering Council Hall of Fame, Roy L. Clay, Sr., was “a key figure” in the development of Hewlett Packard's computer divisions in the 1960s. Clay, who grew up in the Jim Crow-era South, served as vice mayor in Palo Alto, California in the 1970s.
We encourage you to join us as we acknowledging these individuals and their landmark moments, not just during Black History Month, but through the entire year!
We at Flawless couldn’t be more grateful for the impact the Black community has made throughout history, and Black history is everyone’s history so we all gain from diversity and inclusivity. The achievements of these trail blazers (and many more) are a testament to this, and we hope in recognizing these individuals you’ll be motivated to push your limits and test any boundaries set within a group. Do your part to ensure that diversity is always welcome in your circle.