Because East Computing has disbanded, engineering teams housed in the older, eastern part of the campus occasionally request that the West Area send someone to help out. On one such occasion, Dorothy sends Mary. Not knowing her way around the East Area, she asks the white women she is working with for directions to the bathroom. She is humiliated by their amused response: they have no idea where her bathroom is. At the end of the day, still fuming, Mary speaks her mind during a conversation with an assistant section head, Kazimierz Czarnecki. Fortunately, she has chosen the right person to be candid with: he invites her to join his team.

Langley has lately been making exciting new discoveries, related to optimizing wind-tunnel design and aircraft body shapes. Mary, with her physics background, thrives in this environment. One day, when she disagrees with a division chief, a careful review of the data and the calculations proves her right. There are women at Langley who are very fast at mental calculations. There are women who have a deep understanding of higher-level mathematics. But Mary has demonstrated another quality, highly prized in engineers: the willingness to stand one’s ground when one is right.