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‘Hidden Figures’ Mathematician To Be Honored At WVSU
By: Associated Press
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INSTITUTE, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia State University and the school’s foundation are planning to honor a NASA mathematician who was educated there with a bronze statue and scholarship in her name.
The school says a dedication ceremony is planned for Aug. 25, the day before Katherine Johnson’s 100th birthday.
Johnson worked as a “computer” at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and later at NASA. She has been widely recognized following the release of a book and film, both titled “Hidden Figures.”
The university is raising funds for the project and hopes to endow the scholarship at $100,000. It will be awarded to students majoring in science, technology, engineering and math, emphasizing helping students who are underrepresented in those fields.