Born: 10 May 1908, United States
Died: 24 March 1999
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA
This biography is reprinted in full with permission from the National Women’s History Museum (United States of America).
Vera Huckel started work at the NACA in 1939.At the time, very few women worked as computers. By 1945 she was a section head in charge of up to 17 women. Through the years she also worked as mathematician, aerospace engineer, and supervisory mathematician.
Huckel’s main area of work was in the Dynamic Loads Division. There, she was one of the only female computers. She worked with the mathematics and testing of sonic booms in supersonic flight. Often, she would travel to the deserts in the western United States and work out the mathematics of the test flights. If she was not able to travel, the numbers and test results would be sent to her in Virginia, where she was the only one trusted to do the math. Additionally, Huckel wrote the first program for the first electronic computer at NASA. Watch the following video to learn more about sonic booms and supersonic flight.