Ivy Hooks

Ivy Fay Hooks (November 17, 1941 - March 23, 2026) was an American mathematician and engineer who worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). She joined NASA after graduating from the University of Houston with a master's degree in mathematics and physics in 1965. Her first assignment was with the Apollo program, where she worked on the modeling of lighting on the Moon and the dynamics of the launch escape system, among other projects. She then went on to play an important role in the design and development of the Space Shuttle, being one of only two women engineers assigned to the original design team for the orbiter.

Early life and education Ivy Fay Hooks was born in Houston, Texas, and grew up in Livingston, Texas. She was named after Ivy Parker, one of the founding members of the Society of Women Engineers, and a close friend of her parents. She graduated from Livingston High School and entered Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, where she studied mathematics. In June after her first year, she got married, and moved to Lufkin, Texas, where her husband was a reporter for a local newspaper. She then went to Austin College. She entered the University of Houston in her junior year. There, she also became interested in physics. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics in 1963.

NASA career Project Apollo Jobs for women with mathematics degrees were not common in the early 1960s, and she did not want to become a teacher, so she went to graduate school, where she worked towards her master's degree. A friend's mother drew her attention to an article in the newspaper that said "NASA's looking for women scientists and engineers."

Space Shuttle In April 1969 she became one of two women engineers assigned to the original design team for the Space Shuttle Orbiter. She recalled that Max Faget walked into the room carrying a balsa wood model airplane and declared; "We’re going to build America’s next spacecraft. And it’s going to launch like a spacecraft, it’s going to land like a plane." For her work on the design of the Space Shuttle, Hooks received the Arthur S. Flemming Award in 1978,