Carnegie Science Center Pittsburgh, PA
Elayne Arrington
Aerospace engineer
Hidden Figures— Pittsburgh's hidden figure: Overcoming discrimination as a female engineer of color
Program Description
Aerospace engineer Elayne Arrington, the first African-American female to graduate from Pitt’s Engineering School and the 17th African-American female to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics, reflects on her own experiences with discrimination as a woman of color pursuing a degree in engineering.
Presented At
Carnegie Science Center Pittsburgh, PA
Film Synopsis
A team of African American women provide NASA with important mathematical data needed to launch the program's first successful space missions.
As the United States raced against Russia to put a man in space, three brilliant African American women at NASA — Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) — became the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn (Glen Powell) into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation's confidence, turned around the Space Race, and captivated the world.