Margaret Hamilton
B. Date of Birth: August 17, 1936
C. Age: 86
D.
E. photograph:
F. A link to the CS Department webpage
G. Bolded words: Margaret Hamilton
H. Italicized words: Indiana plains
I. Bolded and Italicized words: NASA's SPACE FLIGHT missions
J. Title: Biography of a female computer scientist
Influential People
BIOGRAPHY
OF A FEMALE
COMPUTER SCIENTIST
MARGARET HAMILTON
By ISLAM, AF
April 27 2023
- I. PREAMBLE
MARGARET
THE INDIANA PLAINS
Imagine yourself driving through a quiet stretch of the Indiana plains chasing the full moon on a night sky, could you feel the marauding ghosts of riding cowboys riding on horseback slinging guns alongside you, right and left; the world is so changed now, but the round luminous object up there is still the same, only that it has been set foot upon by brave astronauts? Could you ever imagine that a little girl from Indiana would be growing up into the future to be a part of the team of spaceflight breaking the barrier of gravity?
- II. THE PROFESSIONAL CAREER
MARGARET
THE SYSTEMS DESIGNER
NASA FLIGHT MISSIONS
Yes, this little girl, Margaret Hamilton, born in Indiana, in August 1936, is now 87 years old. She is an inspiration for many little girls in Indiana, and Montana, Idaho and West Virginia. Her aspirations were fueled by her grandfather who was a Headmaster. She began her career as a pioneer programmer, and systems designer. Later on, she served for NASA missions’ onboard software developments ensuring flight safety.
- III. RESPONSIBILITY -- 40,000 LINES OF CODE
MARGARET
THE MATHEMATICIAN
The team’s dedication and strife helped man break the barriers of down to earth pull. Margaret’s knowledge of Mathematics and applied sciences helped her make it possible for her persevering team to have written “40,000 lines of code” for NASA’s flight missions to ensure safe Lunar Module landing on the Moon (Hamilton, The New Stack, para 2). She could do it with such dexterity because she was sincere, persevering, and hard-working. She was a software engineer when women were only meant to be in the backyard cooking and dishwashing. NASA missions would only be a dream for women. Software engineering was not a regular university curriculum those days; it was none but her who coined the very term software engineering.
- IV. THE SOFTWARE ENGINEER
MARGARET
THE CHARISMATIC CODER
Her code had some such charisma, she wrote code with some such dexterity that caught the attention of proficient engineers and scientists. Had it not been her extraordinary tenacity it would not have been the same that helped her stay her course. Finding a strong foothold in an arena where patriarchic society did not let females find accommodating space with someone like Margaret who was preferred to many adept male scientists and technologists. When people like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are making a firm foothold in Computer Science, Margaret was not too far behind in the race.
- V. SECURITY OF SPACE FLIGHT
MARGARET
AUTOMATION | THE POWER OF AI | ROBOTICS
Today, the world has entered the age of cyberspace and hypersonic nukes – some contributions of human endeavors would enhance technological advancements offering comfort, safety, automated air and surface transport, mobile communication, entertainment, and healthcare – while some others are only deviated into the development of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) with hypersonic flights of missiles, ICBM, with orbiting satellites, space stations; humans are entering an age of uncertainty, an era of insecurity, threats of cyberattacks, so cybersecurity is an area of information technology. Margaret Hamilton has had a breakthrough when she wrote code for the safety and security of spaceflight, her intellectual capacity must be an inspiration for many working in this field of computer science and software engineering – the area flourished, during the time she was a harbinger in this field of software technology. If it were not for her, probably the world of aerospace flight would not be the same.
- VI. SECURITY OF GLOBAL EXISTENCE
MARGARET vs BOOLE vs JOHN von NEUMANN
AUTOMATION | THE POWER OF AI | ROBOTICS
There was no denying the fact that names like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Elon Musk are known to the world; yet George Boole is no less a contributor to Computer Science. He laid the foundations of logical circuitry of hardware. Boole was an English self-taught mathematician whose invention of Boolean algebra is basic to the design of computer circuits. Some people get the ball rolling, some others give it momentum. John von Neumann, a Hungarian-American mathematician, a computer scientist, a polymath, who had opportunity to dwell in an endless number of fields, a great contributor to science and technology, who integrated pure and applied sciences.
- VII. THE DOGS ARE BARKING | THE CARAVAN IS MOVING ON
MARGARET vs von NEUMANN
Some get the ball ROLLING | Some give it MOMENTUM
Some people get the ball rolling, some others give it momentum. John von Neumann, a Hungarian-American mathematician, a computer scientist, a polymath, who had opportunity to dwell in an endless number of fields, a great contributor to science and technology, integrated pure and applied sciences.
- VIII. THE CARAVAN IS MOVING ON
MARGARET vs von NEUMANN
Some get the ball ROLLING | Some give it MOMENTUM
Be it quantum mechanics, be it hydrodynamics or ballistics, the author of The Computer and The Brain is a source of inspiration for many aspirants studying Computer Science, at George Mason or elsewhere.
- VIII. THE CONCLUSION ... | LIFE IS MOVING ON
MARGARET vs von NEUMANN
Some get the ball ROLLING | Some give it MOMENTUM
To conclude, I could only say, each piece of work, in any particular industry is a runner, experiencing the drag of life, like a million rivets, each piece, keep the aircraft skin intact, the skin friction drag is experienced by all – the world of sensors, signals and systems, are continually sensing the activity around us, the orbiting satellites, all are contributing to the cumulative endeavors to make this world a better place. ballistics, the author of The Computer and The Brain is a source of inspiration for many aspirants studying Computer Science, at George Mason or elsewhere.
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