Annie Easley Biography

Computer scientist, mathematician, and rocket scientist, Annie Easley was born on April 23, 1933 in Birmingham, Alabama. Growing up during the pre civil rights movement, as a child, Easley was encouraged by her mother and father, Willie (Sims) McCrory and Bud McCrory, to get a good education from the fifth grade through high school to become whatever she wanted to be. During this time, educational and career opportunities for African-Americans were very limited. She attended Holy Family High School, and was valedictorian of her graduating class. After high school she attended Xavier University in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she majored in pharmacy for about two years and later attended Cleveland State University in Cleveland, OH where she

During the time, Jim Crow laws were established and were maintaining racial inequality. African Americans were then required to take literacy tests and pay poll taxes in order to vote. Subsequently, she helped other African Americans prepare for the test.
In 1955, her 34-year career included developing and implementing computer code that analyzed alternative power technologies, supported the Centaur high-energy upper rocket stage, determined solar, wind and energy projects, identified energy conversion systems and alternative systems to solve energy problems. Her energy assignments included studies to determine the life use of storage batteries, such as those used in electric utility vehicles. Her computer applications have been used to identify energy conversion systems that offer the improvement over commercially available technologies.
Easley's work with the Centaur project helped as technological foundations for the space shuttle launches and launches of communication, military and weather satellites. Her work contributed to the 1997 flight to Saturn of the Cassini probe, which was launched by the Centaur. The successful launch and further development was considered one of the Lewis Research Center's greatest achievements. She then became among the first African-American computer and rocket