Annie Easley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Annie Easley
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| Born |
Annie Jean Easley
April 23, 1933 |
| Died | June 25, 2011 (aged 78) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | B.S. in Mathematics, 1977 |
| Alma mater | Cleveland State University |
| Occupation | Computer engineer |
| Employer | Lewis Research Center at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics |
Annie Easley (April 23, 1933 – June 25, 2011) was an amazing African American computer scientist and mathematician. She made super important contributions to NASA's rocket systems and energy technologies.
Annie's early work involved running computer tests at NASA. She studied how rocket launches might affect Earth's ozone layer. She taught herself computer programming using languages like Fortran and SOAP. These skills helped her with her important tests.
She also helped create computer code for new energy ideas. This included studying batteries and fuel systems. Her work was later used in hybrid cars and NASA's powerful Centaur rocket.
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Annie Easley's Early Life and Education
Annie Easley was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Her mother raised her and her older brother.
Back then, before the Civil Rights Movement, it was very hard for African American children to get a good education or certain jobs. Schools were separated by race, and schools for African American kids were often not as good. But Annie's mother always told her she could be anything if she worked hard. She really encouraged Annie to get a great education.
Annie went to Holy Family High School from fifth grade through high school. She was the best student in her graduating class. When she was young, Annie wanted to be a nurse. But around age 16, she decided to study pharmacy instead.
In 1950, Annie started classes at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. This was an African American Catholic university. She studied pharmacy for about two years. Then she got married and moved to Cleveland, Ohio.
Later, in 1977, she earned a college degree in Mathematics from Cleveland State University.
Annie Easley's Career at NASA
In 1955, Annie Easley started her career at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). This was the group that later became NASA. She read a newspaper article about twin sisters who worked there as human "computers." This meant they did math calculations by hand.
Annie was inspired and applied the very next day. Two weeks later, she was hired as a mathematician! She worked at the NACA Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in Cleveland, Ohio. This place is now called the John H. Glenn Research Center. At that time, she was one of only four African Americans among about 2,500 employees.
Annie started as a human computer, doing math by hand for scientists. But soon, digital computers were brought in. Annie quickly learned how to program these new computers. She became very good at programming languages like Fortran. She helped create computer code for many different research projects.
One of her most important contributions was her work on energy systems. She created computer tests that helped develop better battery technology. This technology was used in early hybrid cars. She also worked on projects about other energy sources, like solar and wind power.
Annie played a huge role in the Centaur rocket program. This program was super important for launching many satellites and space missions. Her programming work helped plan and analyze missions for the Centaur rocket. The Centaur was special because it was the first rocket to use liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as fuel. This technology was key for launching spacecraft like Cassini and Voyager. It's still a basic part of how rockets are designed today.
During her 34 years at NASA, Annie Easley faced challenges. It was common for women and minorities in science and engineering to face unfair treatment. Even though she had a math degree and took special courses, she didn't always get the same chances as others. For example, she was denied money for education without a clear reason. She was also hired at a lower pay than she was promised.
Besides her technical work, Annie Easley also helped others at NASA. She was an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) counselor. This meant she helped solve problems where people felt they were treated unfairly at work. She also encouraged more women and minorities to join engineering and science careers. Annie retired from NASA in 1989. She left behind a legacy of strength, new ideas, and quiet leadership. She helped show that anyone could contribute to science at the nation’s space agency.
Her long career included creating computer code to analyze new power technologies. She supported the Centaur rocket stage. She also worked on solar, wind, and other energy projects. She helped find better energy conversion systems. In the 1970s, Annie worked on a project looking at damage to the ozone layer.
When NASA's space program had big budget cuts, Annie started working on energy problems. Her tasks included studying how long storage batteries could last, like those used in electric vehicles. Her computer programs helped find energy systems that were better than what was already available. After the energy crisis in the late 1970s, Annie studied the benefits of power plants that made energy from coal and steam.
Annie's work on the Centaur project helped create the technology for future space shuttle launches. It also helped launch communication, military, and weather satellites. Her work contributed to the 1997 flight of the Cassini probe to Saturn. The Centaur rocket was its upper stage.
Annie Easley was interviewed in 2001. This interview is kept in the NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Program. It includes information about the Civil Rights Movement, Glenn Research Center, Johnson Space Center, space flight, and what women contributed to space flight.
Annie lived at a time when women and African Americans faced discrimination. She experienced unfair treatment because she was an African American woman. For example, her face was once cut out of a picture that was put on display. During her 34-year career, she worked in four different departments. She recognized that she might not have received promotions due to her race or gender.
Throughout the 1970s, Annie Easley encouraged female and minority students to work in STEM careers. She tutored younger students and young adults who had left school.
Annie was also a good athlete. She started the first NASA Lewis Ski Club and was its first president. She also joined other ski clubs in Cleveland.
A crater on the moon, about five and a half miles wide, was named Easley in her honor on February 1, 2021.
Personal Life
In 1954, Annie Easley married a man who was in the military. After he left the military, they moved to Cleveland, Ohio to be near his family.
After divorcing her husband, Annie returned to Birmingham. Because of Jim Crow laws, African Americans had to pass a literacy test and pay a poll tax to vote. These laws were made illegal in 1964. Annie remembered the person giving the test saying, "You went to Xavier University. Two dollars." She then helped other African Americans prepare for the test.
Annie always loved to dress up. She wore stockings and heels almost every day in college. At work, there was no dress code. But wearing pants as a woman was not common in the 1970s. However, Annie was one of the first women to wear pants to work after talking to her supervisor about it.
In her first three years after retiring from NASA, Annie Easley spent a lot of time volunteering. She often said she drove more miles as a retiree than as a worker! She traveled the world, mostly to ski. She also became a real estate agent. Even though she no longer tutored regularly, she was always happy to talk to students at career events if they asked.
Selected Works
- Performance and Operational Economics Estimates for a Coal Gasification Combined-Cycle Cogeneration Powerplant. Nainiger, Joseph J.; Burns, Raymond K.; Easley, Annie J. NASA, Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio. NASA Tech Memo 82729 Mar 1982 31p
- Bleed Cycle Propellant Pumping in a Gas-Core Nuclear Rocket Engine System. Kascak, A. F.; Easley, A. J. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio. Report No.: NASA-TM-X-2517; E-6639 March 1972
- Effect of Turbulent Mixing on Average Fuel Temperatures in a Gas-Core Nuclear Rocket Engine. Easley, A. J.; Kascak, A. F.; National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio. Report No.: NASA-TN-D-4882 Nov 1968
See Also
In Spanish: Annie Easley para niños
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