page_title: Barbara Crawford Johnson
section_title: Education
hierarchical_section_title: Barbara Crawford Johnson / Education
caption_attribution_description: English: 1974 Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award recipient Barbara Crawford Johnson speaks to co-workers in her office, circa 1970-1974. Credit: Wayne State University
context_page_description: Barbara Crawford Johnson was an American aeronautical engineer.
  She was the one woman in NASA's engineering team that participated in arrival on the Moon. She conducted significant and important studies on flight dynamics, missile design, wind tunnels, performance analysis, and aerodynamics. In 1968, she was appointed the highest position ever achieved by a woman in her department: manager of the Apollo Program.
context_section_description: The finances of college was a challenge for her family. Barbara ultimately enrolled in the University of Illinois in 1943 due to scholarships and the low in-state tuition. At the time, the university did not yet offer aeronautical engineering degrees, so Barbara started with general engineering to provide her a solid technical understanding and background in all general engineering disciplines. Barbara struggled with oppression as a woman in engineering, and was often told she would never find a job because no one would want to hire a female engineer. 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. Her on-campus professors, Professor Spring and Professor Vawter had tremendously encouraged her on her path to becoming an engineer. 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. She immediately had three different job offers: to stay and teach at the University while pursuing graduate work, to move East and build bridges, or to take a job with North American Aviation in California (which later became Space Division of Rockwell International).
caption: Barbara Crawford Johnson speaks to co-workers in her office, circa 1970-1974.
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