[2] She was responsible for developing the digital media formats that image processing systems used in the early years of NASA's Landsat program.

[6] Thomas excelled in her mathematics and science courses at Morgan State University, graduating with a degree in physics with highest honors in 1964.

[9] In 1974, Thomas headed a team of approximately 50 people for the Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE), a joint effort with the NASA Johnson Space Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

LACIE demonstrated the feasibility of using satellites to automate the process of predicting wheat yield on a worldwide basis.

[8] She attended a science exhibition in 1976 that included an illusion of a light bulb that appeared to be lit, even though it had been removed from its socket.

This involved creating an experiment in which she observed how the position of a concave mirror would affect the real object that is reflected through it.

Thomas' team was credited with developing a computer network that connected research stations of scientists from around the world to improve scientific collaboration.