Margaret Hamilton (scientist)

Margaret Hamilton (born 1938) is currently the founder and CEO of software development company Hamilton Technologies, Inc., however she is best recognized for her role as an Award-winning American NASA scientist and mathematician who as the Director of the Software Engineering Division at Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (CSDL), worked to develop the Apollo program.^[1]. The Apollo program was a space flight program launched by NASA in America under the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower which landed the first humans on the moon with the Apollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969. Margaret is responsible for pioneering the Apollo and Skylab on board flight software and its multiple versions for multiple missions.^[1]. Before her developmental contributions, the on board flight software needed to land on the moon did not exist. Margaret was the individual to coin the term “software engineering”.^[2]

Dr. Paul Curto, senior technologist for NASA's inventions and contributions board noted her as having developed pioneering concepts of asynchronous software, priority scheduling, end-to-end testing, and man-in-the-loop decision capability, such as priority displays which then became the foundation for ultra reliable software design.^[3]. The surrounding contextual setting for her developments was one in which computer science and software engineering were not yet disciplines; instead learning was done on the job with hands on experience. Margaret rose through the ranks by gaining experience and contributing towards uncharted territory in space science.^[1]

Her first award came in 1986 when she was awarded the Augusta Ada Lovelace Award by the Association of Women in Computing.^[4]. In 2003, she was granted a NASA Exceptional Space Act Award for her scientific and technical contributions and included with the award, Hamilton received a check for $37,200, the largest award to an individual in NASA's history. NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe has commented saying “The concepts she and her team created became the building blocks for modern software engineering. It's an honor to recognize Ms. Hamilton for her extraordinary contributions to NASA.”^[3][5].