By Bob Deakin
Scientist and inventor Dr. Valerie LaVerne Thomas has contributed a lifetime of technological inspiration to young women, particularly Black women, in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The Baltimore native was born on February 1, 1943, and we celebrate her accomplishments as she continues to educate young minds while enjoying retirement in the D.C. area.
Dr. Thomas is the retired associate chief of NASA’s Space Science Data Operations Office. She worked at NASA for 30 years, coming aboard not long after the first Apollo Command Module went into orbit.
Brown Versus Board of Education
Growing up in the early days of integration and civil rights was full of challenges, but she persevered, earning her degree in physics at a time when few other women did. She grew up in the historically Black, Cherry Hill section when the U.S. Supreme Court made its Brown vs. Board of Education ruling that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”
She graduated from Morgan State University with honors in 1964, then joined NASA a year later as a mathematician and data analyst. Once established, Thomas managed the Landsat project, an image-processing system that enabled satellites to transmit images from space.
Admittedly, she didn’t study before college and hadn’t seen a computer before arriving at NASA. Before long, her math and science background proved valuable, and she found herself working on the Orbiting Geophysical Observatory (OGO) and Landsat programs at the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Growing Up In Segregated Baltimore
She grew up in the southern Cherry Hill community, initially developed for Black migrants from the south during World War II. They were attracted to Baltimore for better-paying jobs.
“We were pretty much isolated at the southernmost area of Baltimore that was annexed to the city and not exposed to discrimination,” she says of the predominantly Black community. For years previous, other proposed locations for that development for the Black community met with opposition from whites, but Cherry Hill succeeded.
Some Black educators who couldn’t get jobs in Baltimore found jobs in Cherry Hill. “They were excellent educators. As a result, it was later said that ‘there were some smart people who came out of Cherry Hill.'”
A Student and a NASA Scientist in the 1960s
As a Black student and a NASA data scientist in the 1960s, her insights on education and Black history are endless. I reached out to capture her story in her words, but Valerie gave it a personal touch. She is naturally curious about technology, which served as an ice-breaker for our conversation. Inevitably, her focus sways toward education.
“I advise students to try to get a summer internship opportunity,” she answers. “By working in an area that a student may consider for a career, they may find that it is not a good fit. Also, they may learn about and work in another STEM career area that is a better fit.”
A Technological Inspiration To Young Women
In the mid-1970s, she invented the Illusion Transmitter, for which she received a patent in 1980.
The transmitter sends an image from one parabolic mirror to another, creating an artificial 3D rendering. It transmits 3D illusions of an object from satellites to earth. As of 2022, NASA still uses the technology. In addition, she helped develop processing software to convert scientific data captured by satellites into usable information.
In 1985, Thomas earned her Master’s in engineering administration from George Washington University, and in 2004 received her doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Delaware.
“I received my master’s a year late because I was busy with my NASA work,” she jokes. “Otherwise, I have degrees every twenty years.”
Always modest, she downplays the degrees. “I don’t believe in accumulating knowledge to have a storage of knowledge. I preferred to get my degrees at a time when they could help me improve my effectiveness.”
Dr. Valerie Laverne Thomas: A Born Innovator
Her story is remarkable for the time in which she grew up. The resources to study technology weren’t always available, but she applied herself, reading about technology and experimenting with electronics. Around the age of eight, she got hold of a book titled The Boy’s First Book of Radio and Electronics, which launched a lifetime of technological inspiration.
Her career includes educational opportunities not previously available to women of color, and she has become a role model to Black women in the study of science and technology. It has been a lifelong habit to give back to education. She visits schools and encourages young women to pursue their dreams.
Dr. Thomas isn’t one of the pioneering African American women featured in the Hidden Figures film from 2016, but she could be. Over the years, she has reached out to young women to encourage higher education in science and technology. Today, she is still active with the SHADES OF BLUE organization, of which she is a chapter leader in the DC area.
What Makes Val Thomas Click?
She still serves as a substitute high school science teacher, encouraging students – particularly women of color – to pursue further studies in STEM-related fields. She is also active in SHADES OF BLUE, a nonprofit providing young people with educational opportunities in aviation and aerospace.
Furthermore, she possesses a youthful voice and quick laugh, and always has an eye out for the advancement of people of color. There is more to the story about NASA, education and Black history with Valerie Thomas, and an audience ready to listen.
A scientist at heart, learning is a constant. “I have always been and still am interested in knowing ‘What makes things tick?’”
If you ask what keeps her active, she’ll include “Inspiring young people.”
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