Earlham College will rename a building on its Richmond, Indiana campus after one of its most famous alums. Margaret Hamilton graduated in 1958 and went on to lead the team that created the onboard software for NASA's Apollo missions.
The college's board last month approved the decision to rename its Center for Science and Technology in Hamilton's honor. A building dedication is planned for spring 2027.
"Margaret Hamilton helped shape a field that now touches virtually every aspect of modern life," Earlham President Paul Sniegowski writes in a release. "She did so in a male-dominated field where women had little voice or opportunity, helping break barriers and redefine what was possible."
Hamilton died Sept. 30 at age 90.
Hamilton's daughter, Lauren Hamilton, says the outpouring of recognition since her mother's death has been extraordinary and humbling.
"We are grateful that Earlham is honoring her in this way. I know my mother would have been so happy and deeply touched to know that the college thought so highly of her that it chose to name this building in her honor. Earlham was an important part of her life, and it means a great deal to our family to see that connection recognized in such a lasting way," she offers in a statement.
Hamilton graduated from Earlham with a degree in mathematics and a minor in philosophy before heading to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Instrumentation Laboratory. At M.I.T., she joined a team tasked with creating in-flight computers for NASA's mission to the moon.
She would go on to lead the team that created the software that guided the onboard computers in the command and lunar modules on the Apollo flights. She's also credited with establishing the concept of software engineering.
"At Earlham, we want every student to see in Margaret a model of intellectual courage, curiosity, and determination," Sniegowski writes. "Naming our Center for Science and Technology in her honor connects her extraordinary legacy to the next generation of people who will use science, mathematics, and computing to address the world’s most consequential challenges."
Hamilton left M.I.T. in the 1970s and would go on to found two software companies in the following decades. Earlham awarded her an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 2025 for her role as a "path-breaker in the male-dominated realm of scientific application."
President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.
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