Valerie Thomas was interested in science at a young age after watching her father fixing the TV and seeing the parts on the inside that made it work. At Morgan State University, she was one of only two women who majored in physics, and after graduation went to work at NASA as a data analyst. At NASA, she developed computer data systems that supported satellite operations control centers and oversaw the Landsat program, becoming an international expert in Landsat data products. In 1974, Valerie was given a leadership role where she led a team of about 50 people for the Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment, which showed the possibility of using space technology to automate the process of predicting wheat production throughout the world. In 1976, she invented the illusion transmitter that worked as a result of an illusion created by the position of a concave mirror and its effect on a reflected object. In 1980, she received a patent for her invention, an invention that NASA utilizes currently. Other projects Valerie was a part of included Halley’s Comet, ozone research, satellite technology and the Voyager spacecraft