Who is Valerie Thomas from NASA?

Valerie Thomas is an American scientist and inventor who patented the illusion transmitter in 1980. After seeing an illusion that involved concave mirrors and light bulbs in a museum, she became curious about how she might apply concave mirrors in her work at NASA.

Does Valerie Thomas still work at NASA?

Thomas retired from NASA and as SSDOO associate chief at the end of August 1995. All during her NASA career Valerie thrived on projects that have offered her a challenge. She developed real-time computer data systems to support satellite operations control centers (1964-1970).

Was Valerie Thomas in hidden figures?

In early 2017, the truth about Blacks in space travel was uncovered in the film, Hidden Figures, where it exposed the truth that Black Women had been instrumental in calculating the trajectory needed to put the first man on the moon. One of those women is Valerie Thomas.

Where does Valerie Thomas work?

Thomas continued to work for NASA until her retirement in 1995, serving in such positions as Space Physics Analysis Network (SPAN) project manager and most recently associate chief of the Space Science Data Operations Office.

What degrees did Valerie Thomas earn?

In 1980, Dr. Thomas received the Illusion Transmitter patent that provides what is referred to as a holographic image, visible without needing special glasses. She obtained a master’s degree in Engineering Administration from George Washington University (1985).

Who invented 3D illusion?

Valerie L. Thomas
Valerie L. Thomas (born February 8, 1943) is an American scientist and inventor. She invented the illusion transmitter, for which she received a patent in 1980. She was responsible for developing the digital media formats image processing systems used in the early years of the Landsat program.

Did Valerie Thomas invent 3D movies and television?

Thomas, the woman he claimed invented 3D TV and movies, many were stunned that they never heard of her. She is credited with inventing the illusion transmitter, the first mechanism to create the appearance of a 3D image using concave mirrors and rays of light. She received a patent for this in 1980.

How historically accurate is the movie Hidden Figures?

74% accurate
The visual blog Information is Beautiful deduced that, while taking creative license into account, the film was 74% accurate when compared to real-life events, summarizing that “the crux of the story is true, [and] any events that didn’t actually happen are at least illustrative of how things really were”.

What did they call the female mathematicians in Hidden Figures?

Katherine Johnson
Katherine Johnson Dies at 101; Mathematician Broke Barriers at NASA. She was one of a group of black women mathematicians at NASA and its predecessor who were celebrated in the 2016 movie “Hidden Figures.”

What impact did Valerie Thomas have?

Valerie L. Thomas (born February 8, 1943) is an American scientist and inventor. She invented the illusion transmitter, for which she received a patent in 1980. She was responsible for developing the digital media formats image processing systems used in the early years of the Landsat program.

Is Valerie Thomas a doctor?

At NASA she worked for more than 10 years on the Landsat image processing system, the first satellite to provide images from outer space. Thomas’ employment with NASA (1989-1995), she involved herself in writing about career opportunities for women and African Americans and received her doctorate degree.

Who really invented 3D movies?

William Friese-Greene
Early patents and tests. In the late 1890s, British film pioneer William Friese-Greene filed a patent for a 3D film process. In his patent, two films were projected side by side on screen. The viewer looked through a stereoscope to converge the two images.

How old was Valerie Thomas when she died?

Valerie L. Thomas (born February 8, 1943) is an African-American scientist and inventor.

Why was Valerie Thomas important to the community?

Thomas’s invention was depicted in a children’s fictional book, television, and video games. Because of her unique career and commitment to giving something back to the community, Thomas had often spoken to groups of students from elementary school through college-/university-age and adult groups.

How did Valerie Thomas come up with the illusion?

The illusion, which involved another light bulb and concave mirrors, inspired Thomas. Curious about how light and concave mirrors could be used in her work at NASA, she began her research in 1977. This involved creating an experiment in which she observed how the position of a concave mirror would affect the real object that is reflected.

Why was Valerie Thomas interested in concave mirrors?

The exhibit used concave mirrors to fool the viewer into believing that a light bulb was glowing even after it had been unscrewed from its socket. She was so amazed by what she saw at this seminar that she wanted to start creating this on her own. Later that year she started to experiment with flat and concave mirrors.