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'''Dr. Christine Darden''' (born September 10, 1942) is an American mathematician, data analyst, and aeronautical engineer who devoted her 40-year career in aerodynamics to researching [[sonic boom]]s at [[NASA]]. Darden is one of several African-American scientists to be featured in the upcoming biographical drama, [[Hidden Figures]].
'''Dr. Christine Darden''' (born September 10, 1942) is an American mathematician, data analyst, and aeronautical engineer who devoted her 40-year career in aerodynamics to researching [[sonic boom]]s at [[NASA]]. She was the first African-American woman at [[NASA]]'s [[Langley Research Center]] to be promoted into senior executive service.


Darden is one of several African-American scientists to be featured in the 2016 biographical drama, [[Hidden Figures]].
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==Early life==


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==Early life and career==
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Darden was born September 10, 1942 to Desma Cheney and Noah Horace Mann Sr. in [[Monroe, North Carolina]]. Her mother was an elementary school teacher and her father was an insurance agent, both of whom encouraged her education for future job security.<ref name=":0" /> Darden finished her last two years of primary education at Allen High School, a boarding school in [[Asheville, North Carolina]]. She graduated as the class [[valedictorian]] in 1958, subsequently receiving a scholarship to attend [[Hampton University]], then known as Hampton Institute. She graduated from Hampton with a B.S. in Mathematics in 1962. She also earned a teaching certification, spending a brief portion of her early career teaching high school mathematics.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/researchernews/rn_CDarden.html|title=NASA - Standing on the Shoulders of a Computer|website=www.nasa.gov|language=en|access-date=2016-09-09}}</ref>


⚫
Darden was born September 10, 1942 to schoolteacher Desma Cheney and insurance agent Noah Horace Mann Sr. in [[Monroe, North Carolina]]. Both parents encouraged her to pursue a quality education.<ref name=":0" /> Darden finished her last two years of primary school at Allen High School, a boarding school in [[Asheville, North Carolina]]. She graduated as the class [[valedictorian]] in 1958, subsequently receiving a scholarship to attend [[Hampton University]], then known as Hampton Institute. She graduated from Hampton with a B.S. in Mathematics in 1962. She also earned a teaching certification, spending a brief portion of her early career teaching high school mathematics.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/researchernews/rn_CDarden.html|title=NASA - Standing on the Shoulders of a Computer|website=www.nasa.gov|language=en|access-date=2016-09-09}}</ref>
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In 1963, she married Walter L. Darden Jr., a middle school science teacher. In 1965 she became a research assistant at [[Virginia State College]], studying aerosol physics. At Virginia State, she also worked as a professor of mathematics and earned her M.S. in 1967.<ref name="Oakes">{{cite book |last=Oakes |first=Elizabeth |date=2002 |title=International Encyclopedia of Women Scientists |location=New York |publisher=Facts on File |pages=81–82 |isbn=0-8160-4381-7}}</ref>


⚫
In 1963, she married Walter L. Darden Jr., a middle school science teacher. In 1965 she became a research assistant at [[Virginia State College]], studying aerosol physics. At Virginia State, she also worked as a professor of mathematics and earned her M.S. in 1967.<ref name="Oakes">{{cite book |last=Oakes |first=Elizabeth |date=2002 |title=International Encyclopedia of Women Scientists |location=New York |publisher=Facts on File |pages=81–82 |isbn=0-8160-4381-7}}</ref> The same year she was hired by NASA as a data analyst at [[Langley Research Center]]. Most of Darden's early work involved performing calculations for engineers, though later she began automating the process by writing computer programs.
==Career==
⚫
In 1967 Darden was hired by NASA as a data analyst at [[Langley Research Center]]. At first her work was primarily performing calculations for engineers, but she later began writing computer programs for the engineers. In 1973 she was promoted to an aerospace engineer. During this time she continued her education, earning her Ph.D in 1983 from [[George Washington University]]. Her early findings resulted in a revolution of [[aerodynamics]] design demonstrating low-boom sonic effects in the 1960s and 1970s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Darden|first=Christine|date=1977|title=Sonic Boom Theory: Its Status in Prediction and Minimization|url=|journal=J. Aircraft|volume=129|issue=|doi=|pmid=|access-date=|via=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Darden|first=Christine|date=January 1, 1979|title=Sonic-Boom Minimization With Nose-Bluntness Relaxation|url=http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19790006829.pdf|journal=Technical Journal|volume=|issue=|doi=|pmid=|access-date=September 8, 2016|via=}}</ref>


⚫
In 1973 she was promoted to an aerospace engineer, and in 1983 she earned in Ph.D in engineering from [[George Washington University]]. Her early findings resulted in a revolution of [[aerodynamics]] design demonstrating low-boom sonic effects in the 1960s and 1970s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Darden|first=Christine|date=1977|title=Sonic Boom Theory: Its Status in Prediction and Minimization|url=|journal=J. Aircraft|volume=129|issue=|doi=|pmid=|access-date=|via=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Darden|first=Christine|date=January 1, 1979|title=Sonic-Boom Minimization With Nose-Bluntness Relaxation|url=http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19790006829.pdf|journal=Technical Journal|volume=|issue=|doi=|pmid=|access-date=September 8, 2016|via=}}</ref>
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== "Human computers" ==
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In 1989 she was appointed leader of the Sonic Boom Team, a subsidiary of the High Speed Research (HSR) Program. On the Sonic Boom Team she worked to decrease the negative effects of sonic booms such as [[noise pollution]] and the [[depletion of the ozone layer]]. Her team tested new wing and nose designs for supersonic aircraft. She also designed a computer program to simulate sonic booms.<ref name="Oakes" /> The program was unceremoniously cancelled in February 1998, "without fan fare or press announcement."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Reynolds|first=Randolph S.|date=2004|title=An Overview of the Demise of NASA’s High Speed Research Program|url=http://commons.erau.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1536&context=jaaer|journal=Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research|volume=14|issue=1|doi=|pmid=|access-date=September 8, 2016|via=}}</ref> A 1998 abstract published by Darden describes the program as focused on "technologies needed for the development of an environmentally friendly, economically viable High-Speed Civil Transport [HSCT]."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Darden|first=Christine|date=September 11, 1998|title=An Overview of NASA's HSR Program: Environmental Issues and Economic Concerns|url=http://www.cs.odu.edu/~mln/ltrs-pdfs/NASA-98-eccmas-cmd.pdf|journal=European Community on Computational Methods in Applied Sciences|volume=|issue=|doi=|pmid=|access-date=|via=}}</ref>


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== NASA's "human computers" ==
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Darden was one of several African-American women employed at the [[Langley Research Center]] known as the "[[West Area Computers]]."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aip.org/history-programs/physics-history/johnson-darden-mouton-west-computers-nasa|title="When Computers Wore Skirts:" Katherine Johnson, Christine Darden, and the "West Computers" {{!}} American Institute of Physics|website=www.aip.org|access-date=2016-09-09}}</ref> The collective, once tasked with processing scores of collected flight test data, soon garnered a reputation as "human computers" essential to NASA's operation.
⚫
In 1989, Darden was appointed leader of the Sonic Boom Team, a subsidiary of the High Speed Research (HSR) Program. On the Sonic Boom Team she worked to decrease the negative effects of sonic booms such as [[noise pollution]] and the [[depletion of the ozone layer]]. Her team tested new wing and nose designs for supersonic aircraft. She also designed a computer program to simulate sonic booms.<ref name="Oakes" /> The program was unceremoniously cancelled in February 1998, "without fan fare or press announcement."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Reynolds|first=Randolph S.|date=2004|title=An Overview of the Demise of NASA’s High Speed Research Program|url=http://commons.erau.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1536&context=jaaer|journal=Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research|volume=14|issue=1|doi=|pmid=|access-date=September 8, 2016|via=}}</ref> A 1998 abstract published by Darden describes the program as focused on "technologies needed for the development of an environmentally friendly, economically viable High-Speed Civil Transport [HSCT]."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Darden|first=Christine|date=September 11, 1998|title=An Overview of NASA's HSR Program: Environmental Issues and Economic Concerns|url=http://www.cs.odu.edu/~mln/ltrs-pdfs/NASA-98-eccmas-cmd.pdf|journal=European Community on Computational Methods in Applied Sciences|volume=|issue=|doi=|pmid=|access-date=|via=}}</ref>

⚫
Darden was one of several African-American women employed at Langley known as the "[[West Area Computers]]."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aip.org/history-programs/physics-history/johnson-darden-mouton-west-computers-nasa|title="When Computers Wore Skirts:" Katherine Johnson, Christine Darden, and the "West Computers" {{!}} American Institute of Physics|website=www.aip.org|access-date=2016-09-09}}</ref> The collective, once tasked with processing scores of collected flight test data, soon garnered a reputation as "human computers" essential to NASA's operation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/larc/from-computers-to-leaders-women-at-nasa-langley|title=From Computers to Leaders: Women at NASA Langley|last=Atkinson|first=Joe|date=2015-08-24|access-date=2016-09-09}}</ref> Despite their noted efficiency, the women were subject to [[Jim Crow laws]] even then, and were often required to use separate facilities. Before the group was disbanded, Darden moved up the ranks to become "one of NASA's preeminent experts on supersonic flight and sonic booms,"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/larc/from-computers-to-leaders-women-at-nasa-langley|title=From Computers to Leaders: Women at NASA Langley|last=Atkinson|first=Joe|date=2015-08-24|access-date=2016-09-09}}</ref> as well as the first African-American woman at Langley to be promoted into senior executive service.


In March 2007, Darden retired from NASA as director of the Office of Strategic Communication and Education.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/researchernews/rn_07retirees.html|title=More Than 40 Take the Buyout, Retire|last=|first=|date=April 4, 2007|work=The Researcher News|access-date=September 8, 2016|via=}}</ref> She is the author of more than 50 publications in the general field of aeronautical design, specializing in [[supersonic flow]] and flap design, as well as the prediction and minimization of sonic booms.
In March 2007, Darden retired from NASA as director of the Office of Strategic Communication and Education.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/researchernews/rn_07retirees.html|title=More Than 40 Take the Buyout, Retire|last=|first=|date=April 4, 2007|work=The Researcher News|access-date=September 8, 2016|via=}}</ref> She is the author of more than 50 publications in the general field of aeronautical design, specializing in [[supersonic flow]] and flap design, as well as the prediction and minimization of sonic booms.


== Book and film portrayal ==
== Book and film portrayal ==
Dr. Darden is featured in ''Hidden Figures'', a nonfiction book by [[Margot Lee Shetterly|Margo Lee Shetterly]]. The book was published on September 6, 2016.
Darden is featured in ''Hidden Figures'', a nonfiction book by [[Margot Lee Shetterly|Margo Lee Shetterly]]. The book was published on September 6, 2016.


A [[Hidden Figures|film adaptation]] of same name is slated to be released in the United States on December 25, 2016. Darden will not be portrayed onscreen in the movie.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/books/on-being-black-female-math-whizzes-during-the-space-race.html|title=On Being a Black Female Math Whiz During the Space Race|last=Buckley|first=Cara|date=2016-09-05|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2016-09-09}}</ref>
A [[Hidden Figures|film adaptation]] of same name is slated to be released in the United States on December 25, 2016. Darden will not be portrayed onscreen in the movie.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/books/on-being-black-female-math-whizzes-during-the-space-race.html|title=On Being a Black Female Math Whiz During the Space Race|last=Buckley|first=Cara|date=2016-09-05|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2016-09-09}}</ref>

Revision as of 05:21, 9 September 2016

Christine Darden
Christine Darden in the control room of NASA Langley's Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel in 1975. Credit: NASA
BornSeptember 10, 1942
Alma materHampton University, 1962; George Washington University, 1985
Known forstudies in sonic booms
AwardsDr. A. T. Weathers Technical Achievement Award, 1985
Scientific career
Fieldsaeronautical engineering

Dr. Christine Darden (born September 10, 1942) is an American mathematician, data analyst, and aeronautical engineer who devoted her 40-year career in aerodynamics to researching sonic booms at NASA. She was the first African-American woman at NASA's Langley Research Center to be promoted into senior executive service.

Darden is one of several African-American scientists to be featured in the 2016 biographical drama, Hidden Figures.

Early life and career

Darden was born September 10, 1942 to schoolteacher Desma Cheney and insurance agent Noah Horace Mann Sr. in Monroe, North Carolina. Both parents encouraged her to pursue a quality education.[1] Darden finished her last two years of primary school at Allen High School, a boarding school in Asheville, North Carolina. She graduated as the class valedictorian in 1958, subsequently receiving a scholarship to attend Hampton University, then known as Hampton Institute. She graduated from Hampton with a B.S. in Mathematics in 1962. She also earned a teaching certification, spending a brief portion of her early career teaching high school mathematics.[1]

In 1963, she married Walter L. Darden Jr., a middle school science teacher. In 1965 she became a research assistant at Virginia State College, studying aerosol physics. At Virginia State, she also worked as a professor of mathematics and earned her M.S. in 1967.[2] The same year she was hired by NASA as a data analyst at Langley Research Center. Most of Darden's early work involved performing calculations for engineers, though later she began automating the process by writing computer programs.

In 1973 she was promoted to an aerospace engineer, and in 1983 she earned in Ph.D in engineering from George Washington University. Her early findings resulted in a revolution of aerodynamics design demonstrating low-boom sonic effects in the 1960s and 1970s.[3][4]

NASA's "human computers"

In 1989, Darden was appointed leader of the Sonic Boom Team, a subsidiary of the High Speed Research (HSR) Program. On the Sonic Boom Team she worked to decrease the negative effects of sonic booms such as noise pollution and the depletion of the ozone layer. Her team tested new wing and nose designs for supersonic aircraft. She also designed a computer program to simulate sonic booms.[2] The program was unceremoniously cancelled in February 1998, "without fan fare or press announcement."[5] A 1998 abstract published by Darden describes the program as focused on "technologies needed for the development of an environmentally friendly, economically viable High-Speed Civil Transport [HSCT]."[6]

Darden was one of several African-American women employed at Langley known as the "West Area Computers."[7] The collective, once tasked with processing scores of collected flight test data, soon garnered a reputation as "human computers" essential to NASA's operation.[8] Despite their noted efficiency, the women were subject to Jim Crow laws even then, and were often required to use separate facilities. Before the group was disbanded, Darden moved up the ranks to become "one of NASA's preeminent experts on supersonic flight and sonic booms,"[9] as well as the first African-American woman at Langley to be promoted into senior executive service.

In March 2007, Darden retired from NASA as director of the Office of Strategic Communication and Education.[10] She is the author of more than 50 publications in the general field of aeronautical design, specializing in supersonic flow and flap design, as well as the prediction and minimization of sonic booms.

Book and film portrayal

Darden is featured in Hidden Figures, a nonfiction book by Margo Lee Shetterly. The book was published on September 6, 2016.

A film adaptation of same name is slated to be released in the United States on December 25, 2016. Darden will not be portrayed onscreen in the movie.[11]

Awards

In 1985 Darden was awarded the Dr. A. T. Weathers Technical Achievement Award from the National Technical Association. She also received three Certificates of Outstanding Performance from Langley Research Center in 1989, 1991, and 1992.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b "NASA - Standing on the Shoulders of a Computer". www.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  2. ^ a b c Oakes, Elizabeth (2002). International Encyclopedia of Women Scientists. New York: Facts on File. pp. 81–82. ISBN 0-8160-4381-7.
  3. ^ Darden, Christine (1977). "Sonic Boom Theory: Its Status in Prediction and Minimization". J. Aircraft. 129.
  4. ^ Darden, Christine (January 1, 1979). "Sonic-Boom Minimization With Nose-Bluntness Relaxation" (PDF). Technical Journal. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  5. ^ Reynolds, Randolph S. (2004). "An Overview of the Demise of NASA's High Speed Research Program". Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research. 14 (1). Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  6. ^ Darden, Christine (September 11, 1998). "An Overview of NASA's HSR Program: Environmental Issues and Economic Concerns" (PDF). European Community on Computational Methods in Applied Sciences.
  7. ^ ""When Computers Wore Skirts:" Katherine Johnson, Christine Darden, and the "West Computers" | American Institute of Physics". www.aip.org. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  8. ^ Atkinson, Joe (2015-08-24). "From Computers to Leaders: Women at NASA Langley". Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  9. ^ Atkinson, Joe (2015-08-24). "From Computers to Leaders: Women at NASA Langley". Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  10. ^ "More Than 40 Take the Buyout, Retire". The Researcher News. April 4, 2007. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  11. ^ Buckley, Cara (2016-09-05). "On Being a Black Female Math Whiz During the Space Race". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
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