NASA physicist and mathematician Katherine Johnson passed away on February 24, 2020. The 101-year-old African American woman was a1figure, who played a significant part in the early successes of the U. S.2program.
Her story was barely3to the public until 2016, when a movie called Hidden Figures was 4. It follows the lives of Johnson and two other great African American women.
With5but a pencil and a slide rule, Johnson6the exact flight paths for the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon in 1969.
“We're7by the passing of celebrated mathematician Katherine Johnson. Today, we8her 101 years of life and9her legacy of excellence that10racial and social barriers, ” NASA posted on social media.
Johnson11 high school at the age of 10 and graduated at 14. The following year she entered West Virginia State College. By her junior year, she had taken every math course the school had to offer. She finished college in 1937 with a double12in French and mathematics. In 1939, Johnson and two other13students became the first three African American students selected for a graduate program at West Virginia University, an14school in Morgantown. Then she had her15at NASA, from 1953 to 1986.
Built over 2, 200 years ago, Dujiangyan, is the world's oldest man-made water system, lies in Sichuan Province in Southwest China.This amazing engineering (achieve) is seen as a wonder in the development of Chinese science.
In ancient times, the region in which Dujiangyan now stands(suffer) from regular floods (cause) by overflow from the Minjiang River.(help) the victims of the flooding, Li Bing, the region governor, together with his son, decided to find a solution.Li designed a series of channels built at different levels along Mount Yulei that would take away the floodwater while leaving the river flowing naturally. (good) than ever, the extra water could be directed to the dry Chengdu Plain, making suitable for farming.
Once the system was finished, no more floods occurred and the people were able to live (peace). Today, Dujiangyan (admire) by scientists from around the world because of one feature.Unlike modern dams where the water is blocked with a huge wall, Dujiangyan still lets water flow through the Minjiang River naturally, enabling ecosystem and fish populations to exist harmony.
