Avenger of the Week | Valerie Thomas, American Scientist and Inventor

Dr. Valerie Thomas in 1979 standing with a stack of early Landsat Computer Compatible Tapes (CCTs).

When Valerie Thomas was 8 years old in 1951, she took A Boy’s First Book of Electronics out of the library, and it changed her life. She discovered that she loved math and science, inspiring a path that would lead her to become a distinguished NASA scientist and inventor.

Although her father declined to help her with the experiments in that book, and she later attended an all-girls high school that did not encourage focus on math and science, Thomas never wavered from her passions. She became one of only two women majoring in Physics at Morgan State University, and she was hired by NASA as a data analyst when she graduated with honors. During her 30-year career at NASA, Thomas made significant contributions to the study of space.

In the mid-1970s, she managed the development of the image-processing systems for Landsat, which was the first satellite to send images to the Earth from space and has now become the longest-running enterprise for acquisition of such satellite imagery. Shereceived a patent in 1980 for the illusion transmitter, a device that produces 3D images using concave mirrors. NASA subsequently adopted the technology, and it’s still in use today. It has since been adapted for use in surgery as well as in the production of television and video screens.

Thomas held a number of management positions, including Project Manager of the Space Physics Analysis Network and Associate Chief of the Space Science Data Operations Office, and she developed computer programs that supported research on Halley's Comet, the ozone layer, and satellite technology. Thomas’ achievements earned her many awards at NASA including the Goddard Space Flight Center Award of Merit and the NASA Equal Opportunity Medal.

Her success as a scientist, despite the lack of early support for her interests, inspired Thomas to reach out to students. In addition to her work at NASA, she mentored youths through the National Technical Association and Science Mathematics Aerospace Research and Technology, Inc. and has continued since her retirement in 1995.

Sometimes having no script, having no idea what is going to happen next, having no map, might be the way to go. Because life just happens, and when it does, how you handle it will teach you more about who you are than any class or test ever can. The best preparation for the rest of your life is, maybe, no preparation at all. Dive right in. Make mistakes. Break a few rules. Wing it.

For her pursuit of science when there were no books like A Girl’s First Book of Electronics available, for her award-winning work at NASA as an inventor, and for her mentorship of others to pay it forward, we salute Valerie Thomas as our Avenger of the Week!

Go, Valerie Thomas!

The @GenderAvenger #AvengerOfTheWeek is Valerie Thomas. Her incredible NASA career and passion is inspiring. “The best preparation for the rest of your life is, maybe, no preparation at all. Dive right in. Make mistakes. Break a few rules.” #GenderAvenger https://www.genderavenger.com/blog/avenger-of-the-week-valerie-thomas