Margaret Hamilton (scientist)
Encyclopedia
Margaret Hamilton is currently the founder and CEO of software development company Hamilton Technologies, Inc. However, she is best recognized for her role as an award-winning American NASA
scientist and mathematician, who as Director of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory (later the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory
), played a key role in the success of the Apollo space program: Margaret was responsible for helping pioneer the Apollo on-board guidance software required to navigate to/from and land on the moon, and its multiple variations used on numerous missions (including the subsequent Skylab
). Margaret was also the individual who coined the term “software engineering
”.
Dr. Paul Curto, senior technologist for NASA's inventions and contributions board noted her as having developed pioneering concepts of asynchronous software, priority scheduling, end-to-end testing, and man-in-the-loop decision capability, such as priority displays which then became the foundation for ultra reliable software design. The surrounding contextual setting for her developments was one in which computer science and software engineering were not yet disciplines; instead learning was done on the job with hands on experience. Margaret rose through the ranks by gaining experience and contributing towards uncharted territory in space science.
Her first award came in 1986 when she was awarded the Augusta Ada Lovelace Award by the Association of Women in Computing. In 2003, she was granted a NASA Exceptional Space Act Award for her scientific and technical contributions and included with the award, Hamilton received a check for $37,200, the largest award to an individual in NASA's history. NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe has commented saying “The concepts she and her team created became the building blocks for modern software engineering. It's an honor to recognize Ms. Hamilton for her extraordinary contributions to NASA.”.
These in turn led her to develop concepts of asynchronous software, priority scheduling, and man-in-the-loop decision capability, which became the foundation for modern, ultra-reliable software design.
The end-result was famously attributed with preventing an abort of the Apollo 11
mission. just three minutes before it reached the moon's surface. Due to its robust architecture, the computer was able to keep running, even in the face of an overload of incoming data (ultimately traced to a radar system whose 'on' switch had been erroneously activated, because of a faulty checklist provided to the crew).
Margaret's current activities as of February 2010 include fulfilling her role as the founder and CEO of Hamilton Technologies, Inc., a business developed around the Universal Systems Language
(USL) which is in turn based upon her Development Before The Fact (DBTF) paradigm for systems and software design.
in Richmond, Indiana
having majored in mathematics. Moving from Indiana to Massachusetts for graduate studies, she instead was hired at MIT where she started her career as a software developer learning from hands on experience. Margaret went on to become a Director in the Apollo project from which she won the NASA Exceptional Space Act Award for her scientific and technical contributions, and the Augusta Ada Lovelace Award by the Association of Women in Computing. In 1986 she became the founder and CEO of Hamilton Technologies, Inc in Cambridge, MA.
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
scientist and mathematician, who as Director of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory (later the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory
Charles Stark Draper Laboratory
Draper Laboratory is an American not-for-profit research and development organization in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Draper focuses on the design, development, and deployment of advanced technology solutions to problems in national security, space exploration, health care and energy.Originally...
), played a key role in the success of the Apollo space program: Margaret was responsible for helping pioneer the Apollo on-board guidance software required to navigate to/from and land on the moon, and its multiple variations used on numerous missions (including the subsequent Skylab
Skylab
Skylab was a space station launched and operated by NASA, the space agency of the United States. Skylab orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979, and included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems. It was launched unmanned by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a mass of...
). Margaret was also the individual who coined the term “software engineering
Software engineering
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
”.
Dr. Paul Curto, senior technologist for NASA's inventions and contributions board noted her as having developed pioneering concepts of asynchronous software, priority scheduling, end-to-end testing, and man-in-the-loop decision capability, such as priority displays which then became the foundation for ultra reliable software design. The surrounding contextual setting for her developments was one in which computer science and software engineering were not yet disciplines; instead learning was done on the job with hands on experience. Margaret rose through the ranks by gaining experience and contributing towards uncharted territory in space science.
Her first award came in 1986 when she was awarded the Augusta Ada Lovelace Award by the Association of Women in Computing. In 2003, she was granted a NASA Exceptional Space Act Award for her scientific and technical contributions and included with the award, Hamilton received a check for $37,200, the largest award to an individual in NASA's history. NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe has commented saying “The concepts she and her team created became the building blocks for modern software engineering. It's an honor to recognize Ms. Hamilton for her extraordinary contributions to NASA.”.
Research
As a NASA scientist, Margaret worked to gain hands-on experience during a time when computer science and software engineering courses or disciplines were non-existent. In the process, she produced innovations in the fields of system design and software development, enterprise and process modeling, preventative systems design, development paradigm, formal systems (and software) modeling languages, system-oriented objects for systems modeling and development, automated life-cycle environments, methods for maximizing software reliability and reuse, domain analysis, correctness by built-in language properties, open-architecture techniques for robust systems, full life-cycle automation, quality assurance, seamless integration (including systems to software), distributed processing systems, error detection and recovery techniques, man/machine interface systems, operating systems, end-to-end testing techniques, and life-cycle management techniques.These in turn led her to develop concepts of asynchronous software, priority scheduling, and man-in-the-loop decision capability, which became the foundation for modern, ultra-reliable software design.
The end-result was famously attributed with preventing an abort of the Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
mission. just three minutes before it reached the moon's surface. Due to its robust architecture, the computer was able to keep running, even in the face of an overload of incoming data (ultimately traced to a radar system whose 'on' switch had been erroneously activated, because of a faulty checklist provided to the crew).
Margaret's current activities as of February 2010 include fulfilling her role as the founder and CEO of Hamilton Technologies, Inc., a business developed around the Universal Systems Language
Universal Systems Language
Unlike traditional languages, the Universal Systems Language is based on a preventative instead of a curative paradigm. Based on systems theory, to a great extent derived from lessons learned from the Apollo onboard flight software effort, USL has evolved over several decades and taken on multiple...
(USL) which is in turn based upon her Development Before The Fact (DBTF) paradigm for systems and software design.
Early life
Born in 1938, Margaret attended Hancock High School and graduated in 1954. In 1958 she graduated from Earlham CollegeEarlham College
Earlham College is a liberal arts college in Richmond, Indiana. It was founded in 1847 by Quakers and has approximately 1,200 students.The president is John David Dawson...
in Richmond, Indiana
Richmond, Indiana
Richmond is a city largely within Wayne Township, Wayne County, in east central Indiana, United States, which borders Ohio. The city also includes the Richmond Municipal Airport, which is in Boston Township and separated from the rest of the city...
having majored in mathematics. Moving from Indiana to Massachusetts for graduate studies, she instead was hired at MIT where she started her career as a software developer learning from hands on experience. Margaret went on to become a Director in the Apollo project from which she won the NASA Exceptional Space Act Award for her scientific and technical contributions, and the Augusta Ada Lovelace Award by the Association of Women in Computing. In 1986 she became the founder and CEO of Hamilton Technologies, Inc in Cambridge, MA.