Name: Gertrude Blanch
Born: c. 1897 in Kolno, Poland
Death: 1996 (Age: 99)
Computer-related contributions
- American mathematician. Known for her pioneering work in numerical analysis and computation.
- She worked on the Mathematical Tables Project of the WPA, where she served as technical director. There, she designed algorithms that were executed by teams of human “computers” under her direction. Their output defined the standard for transcendental function solution for decades. This project became the Computation Laboratory of the National Bureau of Standards.
Significant publications
- The Gertrude Blanch Papers (1932-1996).
Honors and awards
- Received the Federal Woman’s Award (1964).
- Elected a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1962).
