Mary Golda Ross

Intro

Mary Golda Ross was the first female Native American aerospace engineer. She is remembered for her work as a mathematician and engineer on several professional and theoretical aerospace projects during America's space-age (1957 to the present).

"I have always considered my work a joint effort. I was fortunate to have worked on great ideas and with very intelligent people. I may have developed a few equations no one had thought of before but that was nothing unusual—everybody did that." — Mary G. Ross

Early Life & Education

Mary was born in Park Hill, Oklahoma, and was the second of five children. Talented from a young age, Mary went to live with her grandparents in the Cherokee Nation capital of Tahlequah to attend primary and secondary school. In 1924, at age 16, Mary enrolled in Northeastern State Teachers College in Tahlequah, earning a bachelor's degree in mathematics at the age of 20. She then received her master's degree from the Colorado State Teachers College in 1938, where she took "every astronomy class they had."

"I was the only female in my class. I sat on one side of the room and the guys on the other side of the room. I guess they didn't want to associate with me. But I could hold my own with them, and sometimes did better." — Mary G. Ross

Career

During the Great Depression, Mary taught math and science for nine years in Oklahoma. After the U.S. joined WWII, Mary moved to California, where she became a mathematician for the aerospace company Lockheed. Initially, she worked on the P-38 Lightning, one of the fastest airplanes used during WWII. Her research on the effects of pressure against the P-38 Lightning helped solve issues with high-speed flight and aeroelasticity. The war years involved nearly non-stop work.

Skunk Works

Mary preferred working on topics surrounding interplanetary spaceflight. She worked her way up the ranks, where she became one of the 40 founding engineers of the highly secretive Skunk Works project (designing aircraft). Mary was the only woman on the original team. She worked on the initial design concepts for flyby missions to Venus and Mars.

Later Life

After retiring, Mary devoted her time to recruiting young women and Native American youth for engineering careers. At age 96, she participated in the opening ceremonies of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Mary Ross died in 2008, leaving a $400,000 endowment to the museum.

"I have been lucky to have had so much fun. It has been an adventure all the way." — Mary G. Ross