Eleanor Krawitz Kolchin facts for kids

Eleanor Krawitz Kolchin (1927 – 2019) was an amazing American mathematician, computer programmer, writer, and teacher. She worked at the Watson Scientific Computing Laboratory at Columbia University. There, she used early IBM machines to figure out the paths of planets, the different phases of the moon, and how asteroids moved. Her important calculations were even used for the Apollo program, which sent humans to the Moon!

Eleanor Kolchin's Early Life and Education

Eleanor went to Samuel J. Tilden High School. While there, she became very interested in Euclidean geometry, which is a type of math about shapes and spaces. She finished high school in 1943.

After high school, Eleanor continued her studies at Brooklyn College. She earned her degree in mathematics in January 1947. During her time at college, she was the treasurer for Pi Mu Epsilon, which is a special national honor society for math students. After graduating, she was accepted into Columbia University. She started taking classes there to get her master's degree in mathematics.

Eleanor Kolchin's Professional Career

Right after high school, Eleanor started working as a substitute teacher. She taught at Midwood High School and later at her old school, Tilden High.

In 1947, Eleanor got a job at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Computing Laboratory at Columbia University. She was one of five people hired for a special project. Their job was to operate "tabulating machines" for astrophysics. These machines were very early computers that could process lots of numbers. At the same time, she was also working on her master's degree in math at Columbia.

Eleanor became a supervisor in the laboratory. She also taught in Columbia's astronomy department. She was the first woman to write for a publication called Columbia Engineering Quarterly.

In 1949, she wrote an article that explained the work being done at the Watson Lab. This article was so important that it has been translated into more than 20 different languages!

Awards and Recognition

In 2014, Eleanor Krawitz Kolchin received a special honor called The National Center for Women & Information Technology's Pioneer Award. This award recognized her as a trailblazer in the world of computers and technology.