Katherine G. Johnson

Mason to honor former NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson

John Hollis — Tue, 25 Feb 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Mason to honor former NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson John Hollis Tue, 02/25/2020 - 05:00

The daughters of Katherine Johnson, Joylette Hylick and Katherine Moore, pose with FOCUS student Olena Bromell following last June's dedication of the Katherine G. Johnson Hall on Mason's Science and Technology Campus. Photo by Evan Cantwell, Creative Services.

��AV will honor trailblazing former NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson in the days following her death on Monday morning. She was 101.

“Hidden Figures,” the 2016 hit movie that chronicles Johnson’s fight and that of her colleagues against institutional racism to help land a man on the moon, will be shown in her honor at the Verizon Auditorium in Colgan Hall on the Science and Technology Campus on Thursday, Feb. 27, at 4 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. Mason renamed the building in her honor in June 2019.

In addition, Johnson will be among those remembered prior to the start of tonight's Mason men's basketball game at EagleBank Arena against fourth-ranked Dayton as part of Black African Heritage Month celebrations.

Johnson worked at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, for 33 years, performing complex calculations and flight path analysis for U.S. spacecraft in the early years of the space program, including for the Apollo 11 flight to the moon in 1969. She worked on the space shuttle program before retiring from NASA in 1986. NASA facilities have been renamed in her honor, and she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.

Katherine G. Johnson Hall will be a beacon for Mason students

Melanie Balog — Wed, 19 Jun 2019 19:46:53 +0000

Katherine G. Johnson Hall will be a beacon for Mason students Melanie Balog Wed, 06/19/2019 - 15:46

Katherine G. Johnson overcame institutional racism and sexism to help put the first men on the moon and carve a path for women and people of color in science and space exploration. Now students at ��AV will know her story every time they step onto the Science and Technology Campus in Manassas, Virginia.

Mason on Wednesday named its largest building at SciTech, formerly Bull Run Hall, Katherine G. Johnson Hall, after the trailblazing NASA mathematician whose story captivated millions in the Oscar-nominated movie “Hidden Figures.”

Johnson, 100, was unable to attend, but family members including her daughters Katherine Moore and Joylette Hylick and grandson Troy Hylick attended on her behalf, joined by roughly 200 friends, university officials and guests in the Verizon Auditorium at Colgan Hall. A chorus of Mason students and alumni led by Lisa Billingham, professor of choral music education, opened and closed the program and generated enthusiastic applause from the audience.

Kevin Clark, a professor in the division of learning technologies and the director of the Center for Digital Media Innovation and Diversity within the College of Education and Human Development, was among the program speakers and said the newly renamed building would serve as a “constant reminder of the intelligence, intensity, patriotism and dedication of Mrs. Katherine Johnson.”

Mason President Ángel Cabrera said Johnson’s story is a good fit with Mason’s mission to provide higher education access to previously underserved groups.

“I hope that the family of Katherine Johnson sees and appreciates this is an institution dedicated to making sure that any person of color gets access to excellence, access to opportunity,” he said.

Clark, whose research focuses on attracting more women and people of color overall to STEM disciplines and careers, spoke more of the visceral impact upon impressionable young people of seeing someone successful in the STEM field who looks like them.

“Seeing is believing,” he said.

Cabrera announced an additional honor for Johnson on behalf of the state of Virginia, which formally decreed Wednesday to be “Katherine G. Johnson Day” throughout the commonwealth.

Johnson worked at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, for 33 years, performing complex calculations and flight path analysis for U.S. spacecraft in the early years of the space program, including for the Apollo 11 flight to the moon in 1969. She worked on the space shuttle program before retiring from NASA in 1986. NASA facilities have been named in Johnson’s honor, and she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.

“The impact that she made on the space program is immeasurable, and it is fitting that this building, which houses science and technology programs, should bear her name,” said Julian Williams, Mason’s vice president for compliance, diversity and ethics.

Attracting more women of color to STEM degree programs is a priority across U.S. higher education, including at Mason, which produces more graduates in computer-related fields than any university in Virginia.

Kelly Knight, an assistant professor with Mason’s Forensic Science Program within the College of Science and the college’s STEM outreach coordinator, also spoke, and brought a group of her Females of Color Underrepresented in STEM (FOCUS) campers with her. One of those high school students, Olena Bromell, read an excerpt from “Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson.”

The building’s naming means that inspiring the many coming behind her could ultimately be Johnson’s greatest legacy, Knight said.

“This is a reminder to young people of color,” Knight said. “We, too, deserve to have a seat at the STEM table.”

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Mason will honor Katherine G. Johnson with building renaming

Melanie Balog — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 09:06:53 +0000

Mason will honor Katherine G. Johnson with building renaming Melanie Balog Tue, 06/11/2019 - 05:06

Katherine G. Johnson. Photo by David C. Bowman NASA, Langley.

��AV will rename the largest building on its Science and Technology Campus in honor of former NASA mathematician Katherine G. Johnson, who as an African American woman overcame racism and sexism to help lead the United States into a new era of space exploration.

The dedication ceremony is set for 11 a.m. June 19 in the Verizon Auditorium in Colgan Hall on the Science and Technology Campus in Manassas, Virginia.

Johnson, who worked at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, for 33 years, performed complex calculations and flight path analysis for U.S. spacecraft in the early years of the space program, including for the Apollo 11 flight to the moon in 1969. Her trailblazing achievements were highlighted in the 2016 Oscar-nominated film “Hidden Figures.”

Katherine G. Johnson Hall will be the new name for the former Bull Run Hall. Mason also will create a scholarship in Johnson’s name.

“Katherine G. Johnson Hall will be a powerful symbol of what can be achieved, no matter the obstacles, when students of all backgrounds are given the opportunity to succeed,” said Mason President Ángel Cabrera, one of the dedication ceremony speakers. “Katherine Johnson represents the idea of striving to fulfill one’s full potential. Her name on this building, and her remarkable story, will inspire future generations of scientists and engineers of all backgrounds.”

Johnson, 100, has NASA facilities named in her honor and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.

"We hope renaming the building on the Science and Technology Campus after Katherine Johnson will be a constant reminder to encourage and inspire students, particularly those in the STEM fields, that anything is possible if you work hard and are prepared,” said Joylette Hylick, one of Johnson’s daughters.

Attracting more women of color to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) degree programs is a priority across U.S. higher education, as well as for Mason, the largest and most diverse public university in Virginia. Mason produces more graduates in computer-related fields than any university in Virginia.

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Campus News

Katherine G. Johnson