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Mae C. Jemison
Astronaut, Physician
Born: October 17, 1956
Birthplace: Decatur, Alabama
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It's easy to see how Komo could confuse
Mae C. Jemison up with Imhotep. The multi-talented,
multi-disciplined (medicine, aeronautics, history, chemical
engineering) Dr. Jemison also just happens to be the first African
American woman to go into space when she blasted into
orbit aboard the space shuttle Endeavor, September 12, 1992.
Mae C. Jemison
served as mission specialist on STS-47 (Endeavor) in
1992. Astronauts on this cooperative mission between the
United States and Japan conducted experiments in life sciences
and materials processing. Dr. Jemison served as a National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut for
six years. As the science mission specialist on the STS-47
Spacelab J flight, a US/Japan joint mission, she conducted
experiments in life sciences, material sciences, and was a
co-investigator of the Bone Cell Research experiment.
Dr. Jemison resigned from NASA in March, 1993.
Growing Up
Mae C. Jemison was born the youngest of three children of
Charlie and Dorothy Jemison, a maintenance worker and
schoolteacher. Raised in Chicago, Illinois, she graduated from
Morgan Park High School in 1973. She earned a Bachelor
of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Stanford
University in 1977, while also fulfilling the requirements
for a Bachelor of Arts in African-American Studies. She
attended medical school and received a Doctor of Medicine
degree from Cornell University in 1981.
The Peace Corps
After medical school, Dr. Jemison served in the Peace
Corps, from January 1983 to June 1985. She was stationed in
Sierra Leone and Liberia, West Africa as the area Peace Corps
medical officer. There she supervised the pharmacy,
laboratory, medical staff. She provided medical care, wrote
self-care manuals, developed and implemented guidelines for
health and safety issues, and worked with the Center for
Disease Control (CDC).
Dr. Jemison
Prior to joining NASA in 1987, Dr. Jemison worked in both
engineering and medicine. She was a General Practitioner in
Los Angeles with the INA/Ross Loos Medical Group. She
then spent two and a half years (1983-85) as Area Peace Corps
medical Officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia in West Africa.
On her return to Los Angeles, she worked as a GP with CIGNA
Health Plans for California, while updating her
engineering skills.
Honors, Awards and Post NASA
Dr. Jemison has earned numerous honors and awards
including induction into the Women´s Hall of Fame; selection
as one of the People magazines´ 1993 "World´s 50
Most Beautiful People" Johnson Publications Black
Achievement Trailblazers Award; the Kilby Science Award;
selection as a Montgomery Fellow, Dartmouth College; and a
number of honorary doctorates. Dr. Jemison has presented at
the UN on the uses of space technology, appeared weekly as the
host and technical consultant of the "World of Wonder"
series on the Discovery Channel in 1994-95, appeared in an
episode of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, and was the
subject of the PBS documentary THE NEW EXPLORERS.
She is on the Board
of Directors of Scholastic, Inc., The Aspen Institute and Spelman
College, is an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha
Sorority, a member of the Association of Space Explorers,
and has an alternative public school in Detroit named after
her. A noted lecturer, Dr. Jemison speaks nationally and
internationally on topics such as science literacy, the need
for increased women and minority participation in math and
sciences, education, achieving excellence and investing in the
present to secure the future.
Dr. Jemison Today
Dr. Jemison focuses on the beneficial integration of science
and technology into our everyday lives - culture, health,
environment and education - for all on this planet. To pursue
these ideas, she formed The Jemison Group, Inc. Current
Company projects include: Alafiyaª a satellite based
telecommunication system to facilitate health care delivery in
West Africa and The Earth We Shareª, an international
science camp for students, ages 12-16, that utilizes an
experiential curriculum. Although she was born in Decatur,
Alabama, Dr. Jemison calls Chicago, Illinois, her hometown.
She is currently resides in Houston, Texas with her cats
Sneeze, Mac and Little Mama.
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