Barbara Crawford Johnson

She conducted significant and important studies on flight dynamics, missile design, wind tunnels, performance analysis, and aerodynamics.

Barbara ultimately enrolled in the University of Illinois in 1943 due to scholarships and the low in-state tuition.

The discrimination caused her to doubt her decisions, and she considered transferring to business, but her parents encouraged her to stick with engineering.

In her free time while in college, Barbara was active in the Air Force Base in Rantoul, Illinois and eventually learned to fly on her own.

Additionally, she won a bid to become an at-large student senator, acquiring more votes than the candidate running for president.

In 1946, in just three years, Barbara Crawford Johnson became the first woman to earn a Bachelor's degree in general engineering from the University of Illinois.

With her love for flying, Barbara chose the North American Aviation job, even with her feelings of inadequacy in the beginning.

The preliminary designers Barbara got to work with taught her a lot and opened up more career opportunities for her, including flight dynamic projects for Dyna-Soar, the recovery of hypersonic gliders, lunar reentry vehicle research, and orbital rendezvous.