The first woman to chair the NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel since its establishment in 1967, McCarty was appointed to the panel in 1998 and elected to that leadership role in 2002.
A pioneer in computer and software development for the aerospace industry, she designed one of the first precursors of internet technology and served as project leader for the development of one of the first multiprocessor operating systems. After a decade of software development and computer systems engineering at Douglas Aircraft and the Aerospace Corporation, she moved into management, directing the Aerospace Corporation's systems software department.
As principal director of software engineering, McCarty oversaw seven engineering departments and supervised the development of satellite and ground systems for national security programs. Her work encompassed research in computer security, computer networks, expert systems, and advanced workstation concepts. She became president of Shamrock Consulting.
