Irene Stegun
Irene Ann Stegun (February 9, 1919 – January 27, 2008)[1] was an American mathematician at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS, now the National Institute of Standards and Technology) who edited a classic book of mathematical tables called A Handbook of Mathematical Functions, widely known as Abramowitz and Stegun.In that role, she learned the basics of numerical analysis from the committee's chair, Gertrude Blanch.[4] In 1948, Stegun and a handful of other members of the Mathematical Tables Project moved to Washington, D.C., where they set up the Computation Laboratory of the National Bureau of Standards.In 1965, Stegun was awarded a Gold Medal from the Department of Commerce for her efforts in completing the project.[5][6] The handbook is considered a classic,[7] "a major cooperative endeavor"[8] and "one of the very few scientific activities of the 1950s led by a woman.