Valerie Thomas
Valerie Thomas was born on February 1, 1943, in Baltimore, Maryland. From an early age, she showed a strong interest in science and electronics. Despite limited encouragement for women in STEM at the time, she pursued her passion and earned a degree in physics from Morgan State University—one of the few institutions actively supporting Black students in science during that era.
Thomas joined NASA in 1964 and worked at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Over her long and distinguished career, she contributed to several critical projects:
Developed real-time computer data systems for satellite operations
Worked on Landsat image-processing systems (used for Earth observation)
Managed large-scale data systems for space missions
Served as a project manager for the Space Physics Analysis Network (SPAN), connecting scientists worldwide