We are recruiting students (and 2-3 faculty assistants) to participate in the HUMAN COMPUTER PROJECT CENSUS, a joint venture between the University of Virginia’s Office of the Provost, and The Human Computer Project, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by Margot Lee Shetterly in 2014. With the female human computers who worked at NASA Langley in Hampton, Virginia as a starting point, the Human Computer Project Census seeks to build out the database of female professionals who worked at NASA and its predecessor agency the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) from 1935 to 1980. 

Using a variety of research techniques—oral history collection, working with digital and physical archives, collecting primary source materials, reviewing secondary sources—participants in the Human Computer Project Census will work to recover the names of as many women as possible who worked at NASA in this capacity, and will then create both biographical sketches and data records for each woman. The goal of this phase of the census is to create a model, with the University of Virginia as an operational hub, and a large museum partner (TBA) as the long-term repository for data and materials collected. UVa will then serve as the coordinating entity for census units set up at other colleges and universities. Once the census has created a database of NASA’s women, it will turn its efforts to women who worked in similar capacities in other organizations in government, private industry, and academia. 

SKILLS REQUIRED.

• Excellent writing and analytical skills 

• Ability to conduct independent research online and in archives

• Familiarity with database and content management software

• Willingness to read and summarize scientific and technical documents 

A complete application will include two reference letters (which speak to your academic credentials and relevant work history), resume, transcripts, and two directed writing samples.

Writing Sample #1. Why are you a strong candidate for this program (1-2 pages)?

Writing Sample #2. Write your personal biography (in third person) in the style and format of this NASA article on Dorothy Vaughan (https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/langley/dorothy-j-vaughan/).

Contact: Margot Lee Shetterly,  Director of the Human Computer Project (and author of Hidden Figures) 

Ken Ono, STEM Advisor to the Provost and Marvin Rosenblum Professor of Mathematics