Mae C. Jemison 1957(?)—

Astronaut, physician

At a Glance…

Sources

In June of 1987 Dr. Mae C. Jemison made history when she became the first black woman selected to be an astronaut by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Jemison came a step closer to being the first black woman in space when she was assigned the role of mission specialist for the June 1991 shuttle Discovery flight, Spacelab-J. A joint venture with Japan, Spacelab-J is charged with conducting life science and materials processing experiments in space to help scientists better understand the environment. As a mission specialist—or “scientist astronaut”—Jemison’s responsibilities include, as she explained to Marilyn Marshall in Ebony, being “familiar with the shuttle and how it operates, to do the experiments once you get into orbit, to help launch the payloads or satellites, and also do extra-vehicular activities, which are the space walks.”

Becoming an astronaut was, as Marshall noted, a “natural progression” for Jemison. As a young girl and teenager she was always interested in science, especially astronomy, and was encouraged by her parents and teachers to pursue not only her science studies, but also dance and art. She earned a double degree at Stanford University—in chemical engineering and Afro-American studies— and then studied medicine at Cornell University. While at Cornell she traveled to Thailand and Kenya to provide primary medical care services. After completing her medical internship Jemison joined the Peace Corps and worked as a staff physician in West Africa. “I took care of Peace Corps volunteers and State Department personnel in Sierra Leone and I oversaw the medical health care program for volunteers in Liberia,” Jemison explained to an Ebony contributor.

Jemison was working as a general practitioner in Los Angeles when she first applied to the space program, in October of 1985—three months before the space shuttle Challenger accident that killed seven astronauts. NASA postponed the application process because of the Challenger incident, but Jemison still aspired to become an astronaut and re-applied in 1986. “I didn’t think about [the Challenger] in terms of keeping me involved,” she told Marshall. “I thought about it because it was very sad because of the astronauts who were lost, but not in any way keeping me from being interested in it or changing my views about things.” Jemison was one of 15 candidates

At a Glance…

Born c. 1957, in Decatur, AL; raised in Chicago, IL; daughter of Charlie (a custodian and contractor) and Dorothy (a teacher) Jemison. Education: Graduated from Stanford University (degree in chemical engineering and Afro-American Studies), 1977; Cornell University, M.D., 1981, Medical intern, Los Angeles, CA, beginning 1981 ; staff doctor with Peace Corps in West Africa, 1983-85; CIGNA Health Plans of California, Los Angeles, general practitioner, 1985-87; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Houston, TX, astronaut, 1987—.

Awards: Award from Essence magazine, 1988.

Addresses: Home —Houston, TX. Office —National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058.

selected from a field of nearly 2,000 aspiring astronauts. In addition to her assignment as mission specialist, she works as a liaison between the Johnson Space Center in Houston and NASA crew members in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Joseph D. Atkinson, Jr., head of NASA’s Equal Opportunity Programs Office, described Jemison as a ’Very stately, intelligent, sincere and stable young woman/’ Commenting to Marshall, he added that Jemison earns high marks for being not only “highly qualified technically,” but also “extremely sensitive to the social needs of the community.” Regarding her role as the nation’s first black woman astronaut, Jemison commented to Ebony on what her achievement might signify to other women. “The thing that I have done throughout my life is to do the best job that I can and to be me. … In terms of being a role model, I really feel like if I’m a role model, what I’d like to be is someone who says, ’No, don’t try to necessarily be like me or live your life or grow up to be an astronaut or a physician unless that’s what you want to do.’”

Sources

Ebony, October 1987; August 1989; February 1990.

Essence, October 1988.

Jet, June 22, 1987; October 30, 1989.

New York Times, October 1, 1989.

Working Woman, April 1989.

—Michael E. Mueller

Mae C. Jemison 1957–

Astronaut, physician

At a Glance…

Sources

By the time she was thirty-one Mae Jemison had received a double-major in Chemical Engineering and African-American studies and had served as a doctor in the Peace Corps in Liberia and Sierra Leone. She had also made history when she was selected from a pool of 2, 000 applicants and became the first black woman selected to be an astronaut by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). She then went on the publish a book for kids and founded her own company, the Jemison Group.

Becoming an astronaut was, as Marilyn Marshall noted in Ebony, a “natural progression” for Jemison. As a young girl and teenager she was always interested in science, especially astronomy, and was encouraged by her parents and teachers to pursue not only her science studies, but also dance and art. She earned a double degree at Stanford University—in chemical engineering and Afro-American studies—and then studied medicine at Cornell University. While at Cornell she traveled to Thailand and Kenya to provide primary medical care services. After completing her medical internship Jemison joined the Peace Corps and worked as a staff physician in West Africa. “I took care of Peace Corps volunteers and State Department personnel in Sierra Leone and I oversaw the medical health care program for volunteers in Liberia,” Jemison explained to an Ebony contributor.

Jemison was working as a general practitioner in Los Angeles when she first applied to the space program, in October of 1985—three months before the space shuttle Challenger accident that killed seven astronauts. NASA postponed the application process because of the Challenger incident, but Jemison still aspired to become an astronaut and re-applied in 1986. “I didn’t think about [the Challenger] in terms of keeping me involved,” she told Marshall. “I thought about it because it was very sad because of the astronauts who were lost, but not in any way keeping me from being interested in it or changing my views about things.” Jemison was one of 15 candidates selected from a field of nearly 2, 000 aspiring astronauts. In addition to her assignment as mission specialist, she worked as a liaison between the Johnson Space Center in Houston and NASA crew members in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Jemison came a step closer to being the first black woman in space when she was assigned the role of

At a Glance…

Born c. 1957, in Decatur, AL; raised in Chicago, IL; daughter of Charlie (a custodian and contractor) and Dorothy (a teacher) Jemison. Education: Stanford University, degree in chemical engineering and Afro-American Studies, 1977; Cornell University, M.D., 1981.

Career: Medical intern, Los Angeles, CA, beginning 1981; staff doctor with Peace Corps in West Africa, 1983-85; CIGNA Health Plans of California, Los Angeles, general practitioner, 1985-87; NASA, Houston, TX, astronaut, 1987-92; Dartmouth Coll, teaching fellowship, 1993-; The Jemison Group, founder, 1993-.

Memberships: Board of directors, Scholastic, Inc; board of directors, World Sickle Cell Foundation, 1990-92; board of directors, The Keystone Center-board of directors Natl Urban League; honorary board member, Center for the Prevention of Childhood Malnutrition; advisory committee, American Express Geography Competition; American Medical Association; American Chemical Society; American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Awards: Essence Award, Essence magazine, 1988; named Gamma Sigma Gamma Woman of the Year, 1990; honorary doctorate, Lincoln University 1991; Ebony Black Achievement Award, 1992; an alternative public school in Detroit was named The Mae C. Jemison Academy, 1992; Alpha Kappa Alpha, honorary member.

Addresses: Office —President, The Jemison Group, PO Box 591455, Houston, TX 77259-1455.

mission specialist for the June of 1991 shuttle Discovery flight, Spacelab-J. A joint venture with Japan, Space lab-J was charged with conducting life science and materials processing experiments in space to help scientists better understand the environment. As a mission specialist—or “scientist astronaut”—Jemison’s responsibilities included, as she explained to Marshall in Ebony, being “familiar with the shuttle and how it operates, to do the experiments once you get into orbit, to help launch the payloads or satellites, and also do extra-vehicular activities, which are the space walks.”

On September 12, 1992, over five years after joining NASA, Jemison became the first African-American female to go into space. She served as a science mission specialist during an eight-day voyage upon the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Jemison’s job was to study weightlessness and motion sickness on the seven-person crew. She also conducted an experiment with tadpoles. “We wanted to know how the tadpoles would develop in space with no gravity,” she explained to Essence. She continued, reporting that “When we got back to Earth the tadpoles were right on track, and they have turned into frogs.”

Joseph D. Atkinson, Jr., head of NASA’s Equal Opportunity Programs Office, described Jemison as a “very stately, intelligent, sincere and stable young woman.” Commenting to Marshall, he added that Jemison earned high marks for being not only “highly qualified technically,” but also “extremely sensitive to the social needs of the community.” Regarding her role as the nation’s first black woman astronaut, Jemison commented to Ebony on what her achievement might signify to other women. “The thing that I have done throughout my life is to do the best job that I can and to be me. In terms of being a role model, I really feel like if I’m a role model, what I’d like to be is someone who says, ‘No, don’t try to necessarily be like me or live your life or grow up to be an astronaut or a physician unless that’s what you want to do.’”

In addition to her 1988 Essence Award, she was named the Gamma Sigma Gamma Woman of the Year in 1990 and in 1992 received the Ebony Black Achievement Award in 1992. She also received an honorary doctorate from Lincoln University in 1991. Then, in 1992 an alternative public school in Detroit was named for her The Mae C. Jemison Academy. During those years she conducted science experiments for NASA and kept up her interests in medicine and science with various board memberships, including a stint from 1990 to 1992 on the Board of Directors of the World Sickle Cell Foundation. She also held memberships in the American Medical Association, the American Chemical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has gone on to serve on the advisory committee of the American Express Geography Competition and as an honorary board member of the Center for the Prevention of Childhood Malnutrition.

In March of 1993 Jemison decided to leave NASA and she soon accepted a prestigious Montgomery teaching fellowship at Dartmouth College. That same year she founded The Jemison Group, a firm that researches, develops, and markets advanced technologies. She soon turned her considerable talents and energies towards helping children in school, particularly with science. She explained her goal to Essence, “What we have to figure out is how to maintain the three C’s of science—curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking—in our children.” Jemison has done her part by co-sponsoring an annual International Science Camp for kidsaged 12 to 16. The month-long summer camp is free to qualified applicants and focuses on critical thinking and experiential learning. She also promoted science for kids by serving as the National School Literacy Advocate for the Bayer Corporation’s program “Making Science Make Sense.” However, probably her broadest step towards reaching kids was the 2001 publication of her book Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments From My Life. Publishers Weekly wrote of the book, which is aimed at children in grades seven through 12, “this inspiring autobiography is a testimony to the power of setting goals and the strength of character necessary to achieve them.”

However, Jamison’s achievements have not shielded her from one of the uglier facts of our society—police brutality. In 1996 Jemison was stopped for a routine traffic violation in Nassau Bay, Texas. Upon finding that Jemison had a previous speeding violation the officer, who was white, attempted to arrest her. In the course of the arrest he grabbed her hand, twisted her wrist, and forced her to the ground. Jemison filed a complaint with the police department. It was quoted in part in Jet: “In my opinion, there is absolutely no justification for an officer to treat the people he is sworn to protect in this high-handed and abusive manner.” She continued, “The officer was disrespectful and abusive. I kept asking him why he was doing this.”

Pending an investigation the officer was suspended with pay. Despite this ugly incident, Jemison continued to serve as a role model to women and African Americans. She told Newsweek, “One of the things that I’m very concerned about is that as African-Americans, as women, many times we do not feel that we have the power to change the world and society as a whole.” With her life and accomplishments she has proven that idea very, very wrong.

Sources

Periodicals

Booklist, November 1, 2001, p465.

Ebony, October 1987; August 1989; February 1990.

Essence, October 1988; April 1993, p58; March 1997, p124.

Jet, June 22, 1987; October 30, 1989; March 18, 1996, p8; November 29, 1999, p31.

Newsweek, September 18, 2000, p54.

New York Times, October 1, 1989.

Publishers Weekly, March 19, 2001, p101.

Working Woman, April 1989.

—Michael E. Mueller and Candace LaBalle

Mae Jemison

Born October 17, 1956 (Decatur, Alabama)

American astronaut, physician

Mae Jemison went into space in 1992 aboard the space shuttle Endeavour. (A space shuttle is a craft that transports people and cargo between Earth and space.) Having been a physician before she became an astronaut, she performed scientific experiments during the eight-day voyage. The first science mission specialist sent into orbit by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), she was also the first woman of African descent to travel in space. After leaving NASA, Jemison founded her own advanced technology companies and has been active in the field of education. Her goal is to use her knowledge and experience to solve problems faced by people on Earth.

"I felt like I belonged right there in space. I realized I would feel comfortable anywhere in the universe—because I belonged to and was a part of it, as much as any star, planet, asteroid, comet, or nebula."

Inspired by science fiction

Mae Carol Jemison was born on October 17, 1956, in Decatur, Alabama. She was the youngest of three children of Charlie Jemison, a custodian and contractor, and Dorothy Jemison, a teacher. The family moved to Chicago, Illinois, when Mae was a small child. By the time she entered kindergarten in 1961 she knew how to read, and she had already

decided to be a scientist when she grew up. She enjoyed reading about science, becoming a science-fiction enthusiast. Jemison told a SuperScience magazine writer that, in sixth grade, two of her favorite books were A Wrinkle in Time and Arm of the Starfish by author Madeline L'Engle (1918–). "Those books stand out," Jemison said, "because they had women scientists and heroines."

In 1968, at age twelve, Jemison had a disturbing experience. Near her predominantly African American neighborhood civil rights demonstrations were being held prior to a major political event. Seeking to prevent disorder, the Chicago mayor sent in the National Guard. As Mae watched the guardsmen march through the streets carrying rifles, she felt both frightened and defiant. Recalling the event almost twenty-five years later, she told SuperScience, "I reminded myself that I was as much a part of the United States as the guardsmen."

During high school Jemison concentrated on science, studied dance and art, and participated in student government. After graduation she entered Stanford University in California, where she majored in chemical engineering and African studies and learned the Russian and Swahili (an African dialect) languages. After earning a bachelor's degree from Stanford in 1977, Jemison studied medicine for four years at Cornell University in New York. While at Cornell she traveled to Thailand and Kenya to provide primary medical care services. Upon completing her medical internship (supervision by a certified doctor) at Los Angeles/USC Medical Center in 1982, Jemison joined the Peace Corps in West Africa. (The Peace Corps is a volunteer organization for service in developing countries sponsored by the U.S. government.) She served as a staff physician until 1985, when she returned to Los Angeles to practice general medicine.

Flies in space

Jemison applied to the NASA astronaut training program in October 1985. Three months later, in January 1986, the space shuttle Challenger (see entry) exploded shortly after takeoff. Seven astronauts died in the disaster, and NASA postponed the application process. After reapplying later in the year, Jemison became one of only fifteen candidates selected from a field of nearly two thousand aspiring astronauts. Trained for the position of mission specialist (scientist astronaut), she awaited a shuttle assignment and worked as a liaison between the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, and NASA crew members in Cape Canaveral, Florida. On her first assignment Jemison was a mission specialist with the ground crew in Houston for the space shuttle Discovery, or Spacelab-J. (Spacelab is a research laboratory that orbits in space.) Launched in June 1991 at Cape Canaveral, Spacelab-J was a joint venture with Japan. The purpose of the flight was to conduct experiments in space to help scientists better understand Earth's environment. Jemison learned the procedures involved in operating a shuttle, conducting experiments in orbit, launching payloads (equipment and supplies) or satellites (orbiting spacecraft), and performing space walks.

On September 12, 1992, over five years after joining NASA, Jemison served as a science mission specialist during an eight-day voyage aboard the space shuttle Endeavour. Although Patricia Cowings (1948–; see box on page 119) was the first African American woman to be trained as an astronaut, Jemison became the first female of African descent to go into space. Her job was to study the effects of weight-lessness and motion sickness on the seven-person crew. She also conducted an experiment with tadpoles. "We wanted to know how the tadpoles would develop in space with no gravity," she explained in an interview with Essence magazine. "When we got back to Earth," she continued, "the tadpoles were right on track, and they have [sic] turned into frogs." Jemison commented to the SuperScience reporter that while she was still aboard the Endeavour she looked down and saw her hometown of Chicago. At that moment she thought about her student days and then, she said, "I felt like I belonged right there in space. I realized I would feel comfortable anywhere in the universe—because I belonged to and was a part of it, as much as any star, planet, asteroid, comet, or nebula."

Starts her own companies

Soon after Jemison resigned from NASA in 1992 she started The Jemison Group to use advanced technology to improve the quality of life in developing countries. For instance, she envisioned using satellite mapping to survey a country's topography (details of the surface of the land) in order to locate resources and to build roads. As Jemison observed to a reporter for the Christian Science Monitor newspaper, drawing a map on the ground is too time consuming. But "From space, you can take one picture and get incredible amounts of data, even though one picture may cost $5,000." Another possible use of technology, she added, is to make fuels from plants to replace fossil fuels such as coal. In 1999 Jemison founded BioSentient Corporation to explore the commercial applications of Autogenic Feedback Training Exercise (AFTE), a technology developed by Patricia Cowings for NASA in 1979. A research psychologist at Ames Research Center in California, Cowings originally designed AFTE, which monitors biofeed-back (biological processes of the body), to ease the effects of space adaptation syndrome in astronauts. (Space adaptation syndrome is similar to motion sickness.) After extensive testing, in 2003 BioSentient was preparing to offer AFTE as a drug-free treatment for stress-related disorders such as anxiety and nausea. The plan was to market the equipment to psychiatrists, neurologists, and other health care professionals.

Promotes science education

Since leaving NASA Jemison has made significant contributions in science education. In 1993 she joined the faculty at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where she became director of The Jemison Institute for Advancing Technology in Developing Countries. Jemison has cosponsored an annual International Science Camp for students age twelve to sixteen. The month-long summer camp is free to qualified applicants and focuses on critical thinking (a way of thinking about a topic or problem by using careful analysis and judgment) and experiential learning (learning by experience: by doing, as opposed to reading or listening). She also promoted science for children by serving as the National School Literacy Advocate for the Bayer Corporation's program "Making Science Make Sense." In 2001 Jemison published a memoir, Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments from My Life, for readers in grades seven through twelve.

Jemison has received extensive recognition for her achievements. In 1988 she was presented the Essence Award, two years later she was named the Gamma Sigma Gamma

Patricia Cowings, Pioneering Scientist

In 1977 Patricia S. Cowings (1948–) became the first female scientist, as well as the first African American woman, to be trained as an astronaut. A research psychologist at the Ames Research Center (ARC) in California, Cowings studied the physical effects of flying in space. She developed the Autogenic Feedback Training Exercise (AFTE) to ease the effects of space adaptation syndrome, which is similar to motion sickness.

Cowings described her early career in the following excerpts from an essay she wrote for the NASA website:

I was the first female scientist trained to be an astronaut. This was way before [first U.S. female astronaut in space] Sally Ride's day [seeSally Ride (1951–) entry] and they didn't even have a uniform for me. I was the alternate and never got a chance to fly but that experience is something I will never forget. The event was Spacelab Mission Development-3, a joint effort between Johnson Space Center (JSC) and ARC and was the first simulation of a life-sciences-dedicated space shuttle mission…. There were two years of fairly intense science development and crew training—half of the time at Ames and the other half at JSC. There was also training at university sites. It was a good two years in which "much ado" was made about my inclusion….

In 1979, my own flight experiment [AFTE] was selected by NASA and it flew on STS [space transport system] 51-B, STS 51-C (1984) and Spacelab-1 (1992).

Woman of the Year, and in 1992 she received the Ebony Black Achievement Award. She also received an honorary doctorate from Lincoln University in 1991. Then, in 1992, an alternative public school in Detroit was named The Mae C. Jemison Academy in her honor. During those years she conducted science experiments for NASA and kept up her interests in medicine and science with various board memberships, including a one-year appointment (1990–92) to the Board of Directors of the World Sickle Cell Foundation. (Sickle cell anemia is an inherited disease affecting African Americans in which unusually shaped red blood cells do not carry oxygen properly.) Jemison also held memberships in the American Medical Association, the American Chemical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has gone on to serve on the advisory committee of the American Express Geography Competition and as an honorary board member of the Center for the Prevention of Childhood Malnutrition. Jemison was the subject of a Public Broadcasting System television documentary, The New Explorers: Endeavour, and she appeared in an episode of the television show Star Trek: The Next Generation.

For More Information

Books

Alagna, Magdalena. Mae Jemison: The First African American Woman in Space. New York: Rosen Central, 2004.

Gelletly, LeeAnne. Mae Jemison. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2002.

Jemison, Mae. Find Where the Wind Blows: Moments from My Life. New York: Scholastic, 2001.

Naden, Corinne J., and Rose Blue. Mae Jemison: Out of This World. Brook-field, CT: Millbrook Press, 2003.

Periodicals

"Dr. Mae Jemison: First in Space." SuperScience (February 2001): p. 10.

Eze, Paschal. "Mae Jemison Honoured." New African (February 2002): p. 25.

Giovanni, Nikki. "Shooting for the Moon." Essence (April 1993): pp. 58+.

Leach, Susan Llewelyn. "How One Woman Is Bringing Space Technology Down to Earth." Christian Science Monitor (April 5, 2001): p. 14.

Marshall, M. "Child of 60s Set to Become First Black Woman in Space." Ebony (August 1989): pp. 50+.

Sykes, Tanisha A., and Sonya A. Donaldson. "A Space-Age Idea." Black Enterprise (July 2003): p. 43.

Web Sites

Cowings, Patricia S. "Women of NASA." NASA.http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/people/bios/women/pc.html (accessed on June 30, 2004).

"Dr. Mae Jemison." NASA Quest: Women of NASA.http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/women/TODTWD/jemison.bio.html (accessed on June 29, 2004).

"Mae C. Jemison." The Faces of Science: African Americans in Science.http://www.princeton.edu/~mcbrown/display/faces.html (accessed on July 2, 2004).

Jemison, Mae C. (1956- )

American astronaut

Mae C. Jemison had received two undergraduate degrees and a medical degree, had served two years as a Peace Corps medical officer in West Africa , and was selected to join the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's astronaut training program, all before her thirtieth birthday. Her eight-day space flight aboard the space shuttle Endeavour in 1992 established Jemison as the United States' first female African American space traveler.

Mae Carol Jemison was born in Decatur, Alabama, the youngest child of Charlie Jemison, a roofer and carpenter, and Dorothy (Green) Jemison, an elementary school teacher. Her sister, Ada Jemison Bullock, became a child psychiatrist, and her brother, Charles Jemison, is a real estate broker. The family moved to Chicago, Illinois, when Jemison was three to take advantage of better educational opportunities there, and it is that city that she calls her hometown. Throughout her early school years, her parents were supportive and encouraging of her talents and abilities, and Jemison spent considerable time in her school library reading about all aspects of science, especially astronomy . During her time at Morgan Park High School, she became convinced she wanted to pursue a career in biomedical engineering. When she graduated in 1973 as a consistent honor student, she entered Stanford University on a National Achievement Scholarship.

At Stanford, Jemison pursued a dual major and in 1977 received a B.S. in chemical engineering and a B.A. in African and Afro-American Studies. As she had been in high school, Jemison was very involved in extracurricular activities, including dance and theater productions, and served as head of the Black Student Union. Upon graduation, she entered Cornell University Medical College to work toward a medical degree. During her years there, she found time to expand her horizons by visiting and studying in Cuba and Kenya and working at a Cambodian refugee camp in Thailand. When she obtained her M.D. in 1981, she interned at Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center and later worked as a general practitioner. For the next two and a half years, she was the area Peace Corps medical officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia where she also taught and did medical research. Following her return to the United States in 1985, she made a career change and decided to follow a dream she had nurtured for a long time. In October of that year she applied for admission to NASA's astronaut training program. The Challenger disaster of January 1986 delayed the selection process, but when she reapplied a year later, Jemison was one of the 15 candidates chosen from a field of about 2000.

When Jemison was chosen in 1987, she became the first African-American woman ever admitted into the astronaut training program. After more than a year of training, she became an astronaut with the title of science-mission specialist, a job that would make her responsible for conducting crew-related scientific experiments on the space shuttle. On September 12, 1992, Jemison finally flew into space with six other astronauts aboard the Endeavour on mission STS–47. During her eight days in space, she conducted experiments on weightlessness and motion sickness on the crew and herself. Altogether, she spent slightly over 190 hours in space before returning to Earth on September 20. Following her historic flight, Jemison noted that society should recognize how much both women and members of other minority groups can contribute if given the opportunity.

In recognition of her accomplishments, Jemison received several honorary doctorates, the 1988 Essence Science and Technology Award, the Ebony Black Achievement Award in 1992, and a Montgomery Fellowship from Dartmouth College in 1993, and was named Gamma Sigma Gamma Woman of the Year in 1990. Also in 1992, an alternative public school in Detroit, Michigan—the Mae C. Jemison Academy—was named after her. Jemison is a member of the American Medical Association, the American Chemical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and served on the Board of Directors of the World Sickle Cell Foundation from 1990 to 1992. She is also an advisory committee member of the American Express Geography Competition and an honorary board member of the Center for the Prevention of Childhood Malnutrition. After leaving the astronaut corps in March 1993, she accepted a teaching fellowship at Dartmouth and also established the Jemison Group, a company that seeks to research, develop, and market advanced technologies.

See also History of exploration III (Modern era); Spacecraft, manned

Mae Jemison

Born: October 17, 1956
Decatur, Alabama
African American physician and astronaut

Mae Jemison, a doctor, was the first African American woman to be selected for the National Aeronautic and Space Administration's (NASA's) astronaut training program and was the first African American woman to travel in space.

Early life and education

Mae Carol Jemison was born on October 17, 1956, in Decatur, Alabama, the youngest child of Charlie Jemison, a roofer and carpenter, and Dorothy (Green) Jemison, an elementary school teacher. Her parents were supportive and encouraging of all of their children's talents and abilities; Jemison's sister, Ada Jemison Bullock, became a child psychiatrist, and her brother, Charles Jemison, became a real estate broker. The family moved to Chicago, Illinois, when Jemison was three to take advantage of better educational opportunities there.

Throughout her early school years, Jemison spent many hours in her school library reading about all subjects related to science, especially astronomy. From a young age she was interested in space travel. During her time at Morgan Park High School, however, she became interested in pursuing a career in engineering. When she graduated in 1973 as an honor student, she entered Stanford University on a National Achievement Scholarship.

Jemison pursued a double major at Stanford, and in 1977 she received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and in African and Afro-American Studies. Just as she had been in high school, Jemison was very involved in outside activities, including dance and theater productions, and she served as head of the Black Student Union. Upon graduation she entered Cornell University Medical College to work toward a medical degree.

During her years at Cornell, Jemison found time to expand her horizons by visiting and studying in Cuba and Kenya and working at a Cambodian refugee camp in Thailand. When she obtained her degree in medicine in 1981, she received her on-thejob training at Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center and later established a general practice. For the next two and a half years, she was the area Peace Corps medical officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia, where she also taught and did medical research.

Following a dream

After her return to the United States in 1985, Jemison made a career change and decided to follow a dream she had had for a long time. In October of that year she applied for admission to NASA's astronaut training program. The selection process was delayed after the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger in January 1986, but when she reapplied a year later, Jemison was one of fifteen candidates chosen from a field of about two thousand. She became the first African American woman ever admitted into the astronaut training program.

After more than a year of training, Jemison became an astronaut with the title of science-mission specialist, a job that would make her responsible for conducting crew-related scientific experiments on the space shuttle. On September 12, 1992, with six other astronauts, Jemison flew into space aboard the Endeavour on mission STS-47. During her eight days in space, she conducted weightlessness and motion sickness experiments on the crew and on herself before returning to Earth on September 20. Following her historic flight, Jemison noted that society should recognize how much both women and members of other minority groups can contribute if given the opportunity.

Honors and new challenges

In recognition of her accomplishments, Jemison received the 1988 Essence Science and Technology Award, was named Gamma Sigma Gamma Woman of the Year in 1990, received the Ebony Black Achievement Award in 1992, and received a Montgomery Fellowship from Dartmouth College in 1993. Also in 1992 a public school in Detroit, Michigan—the Mae C. Jemison Academy—was named after her. Jemison is a member of the American Medical Association, the American Chemical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and she served on the Board of Directors of the World Sickle Cell Foundation from 1990 to 1992. She is also a committee member of the American Express Geography Competition and a board member of the Center for the Prevention of Childhood Malnutrition.

After leaving the astronaut corps in March 1993, Jemison established the Jemison Group, a company that seeks to research, develop, and market advanced technologies (scientific ways of achieving a practical purpose). She is also a professor at Dartmouth College, where she started the Jemison Institute for Advancing Technology in Developing Countries. Jemison also created The Earth We Share, a science camp for twelve-to sixteen-year-olds that helps improve students' problem-solving skills. She remains a popular public speaker, and in 2001 her autobiography, Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments from My Life, was published.

For More Information

Gelletly, LeeAnne. Mae Jemison. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2002.

Jemison, Mae. Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments from My Life. New York: Scholastic, 2001.

Yannuzzi, Della A. Mae Jemison: A Space Biography. Springfield, NJ: Enslow, 1998.