Barbara Paulson
Barbara Paulson (born April 11, 1928) is an American former human computer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and one of the first women scientists employed there.[1] Paulson began working as a mathematician at JPL in 1948, where she calculated rocket trajectories by hand.[2] She is among the women who made early progress at JPL.
Early Life
Paulson was born in Columbus, Ohio on April 11th, 1928.[3] She was raised with three siblings (two older sisters and one younger brother), and when she was 12 years old her father died. After attending Ohio State University for one year, Paulson and her family moved to Pasadena, California, where her career at JPL would begin.[3]
Career
Paulson joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1948 as a computer, calculating rocket paths.[4] On January 31st, 1958.[2], Paulson was assigned to the operations center for Explorer-1, the first satellite of the United States, launched during the Space Race with the Soviet Union.[2] Paulson did the work with minimal equipment: a mechanical pencil, light table, and graph paper.[5]
When Paulson requested a closer parking space at work because she was pregnant, she was fired, as JPL did not employ pregnant women at the time.[6] JPL had no maternity leave, so women who were fired did not have jobs to return to after giving birth.[4] Paulson's supervisor, Helen Ling, worked hard to rehire women who'd been forced out with no parental leave, so in 1961, Paulson accepted Ling's offer and returned to the lab.[2]
Eventually, Paulson became a supervisor in the lab.[7]
Recognition and Legacy
Paulson would work at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 45 years,[3] and retire in 1993.[2] In 2016, Nathalia Holt wrote Rise of the Rocket Girls, a book about Paulson and other women who were early employees at NASA.[6] In 2003, Paulson sold her home following her husband's death, and moved to Iowa to be closer to her daughters and their families.[3]
References
- ^ Holt, Nathalia (2016). Rise of the rocket girls : the women who propelled us, from missiles to the moon to Mars (First ed.). New York. ISBN 0316338923. OCLC 917345188.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b c d e Conway, Erik (2007-03-27). "Women Made Early Inroads at JPL". NASA/JPL. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ a b c d "Rocket Girls". Chicago Humanities Festival. 2018-10-24. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters:|dead-url=and|firs=(help) - ^ a b Holt, Nathalia (2016-06-01). "The Women Behind the Jet Propulsion Laboratory". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "Meet The 'Rocket Girls,' The Women Who Charted The Course To Space". NPR.org. 2016-04-05. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ a b Raymond, Laurel (2016-05-19). "The incredible story of NASA's forgotten 'Rocket Girls'". ThinkProgress. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ Shavin, Naomi (2016-04-15). "NASA's "Rocket Girls" Are No Longer Forgotten History". Smithsonian. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
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