Janez Lawson
Quick facts for kids
Janez Lawson
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Lawson in 1953
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| Born | February 22, 1930 |
| Died | November 24, 1990 (aged 60) |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Employer | Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
Janez Yvonne Lawson Bordeaux (born February 22, 1930 – died November 24, 1990) was an American chemical engineer. She became one of the amazing "human computers" for NASA. These were people who did complex math calculations by hand.
Janez was the very first African-American person hired for a technical job at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). She helped program early computers like the IBM 701.
Early Life and Learning
Janez Lawson was born in Santa Monica, California, on February 22, 1930. Her parents were Hilliard and Bernice Lawson.
She went to Belmont High School and finished in 1948. After high school, Janez studied chemical engineering. She earned her bachelor's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1952.
Janez was a brilliant student, always getting top grades. She was also the President of her college group, the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.
A Career in Computing
Even with her excellent education, Janez found it hard to get a job as a chemical engineer. This was because of her race and gender at the time.
Then, she saw an advertisement for a "computer" job in Pasadena. This job was for someone to do calculations. There was some debate about hiring her. But a woman named Macie Roberts strongly supported Janez.
In 1953, Janez got the job at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). She was one of the first JPL employees to attend a special training course at IBM. This made her the first African-American person in a technical role at JPL.
Becoming a Skilled Programmer
Janez became very good at programming during her training. She learned to use a keypunch machine. She also learned a special coding method called speedcoding.
In 1954, she was promoted to a mathematician. Janez lived in Los Angeles and traveled for over an hour each day to get to JPL. Later, in the late 1950s, Janez joined the Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation.
