Mae Jemison

Mae C. Jemison took a trip most of us will never take. A dream come true, on September 12, 1992 Jemison was the first African-American woman to go to outer space aboard the Endeavor.

Jemison was born on Oct. 17, 1956, in Decatur, Ala., to Charlie and Dorothy Jemison. The Jemison family later moved to Chicago with the hope to improve their children�s education. While in Chicago, Jemison first took her interest in science and spent a considerable amount of time in her school library studying astronomy.

In 1973, Jemison graduated high school and entered Stanford University where she pursued a dual major in chemical engineering and African and African-American studies. Upon completion of her undergraduate degrees, Jemison attended Cornell University Medical College where she earned her doctorate. During Dr. Jemison�s time at Cornell, she studied abroad in numerous countries including Cuba, Kenya and Thailand.

After her college years, Dr. Jemison became a Peace Corps medical officer where she served time in Sierra Leone and Liberia. In those countries Dr. Jemison taught medicine and conducted research.

Upon returning to the United States, Dr. Jemison decided on a career change. In 1985, she applied for admission to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut training program. The next year Dr. Jemison was one of 16 candidates chosen out of a pool of more than 2,000.

On Sept. 12, 1992, Dr. Jemison and six other astronauts blasted off into space aboard the Endeavor. While on their eight-day voyage to space, which took 127 orbits of the Earth to complete, Dr. Jemison and her colleagues conducted research on weightlessness and motion sickness. On Sept. 20, Endeavor returned. Dr. Jemison noted upon her return that society should recognize how much both women and members of minority groups can contribute when given the opportunity.

Awards and honors she has received include Essence Award (1988); Gamma Sigma Gamma Women of the Year (1989); Honorary Doctorate of Science, Lincoln College, PA (1991); Honorary Doctor of Letters, Winston-Salem, NC (1991); McCall's 10 Outstanding Women for the 90's (1991); Pumpkin Magazine's (a Japanese Monthly) One of the Women for the Coming New Century (1991); Johnson Publications Black Achievement Trailblazers Award (1992); Mae C. Jemison Science and Space Museum, Wright Jr. College, Chicago, (dedicated 1992); Ebony's 50 Most Influential women (1993); Turner Trumpet Award (1993); and Montgomery Fellow, Dartmouth (1993); Kilby Science Award (1993); Induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame (1993); People magazine's 1993 "50 Most Beautiful People in the World"; CORE Outstanding Achievement Award; National Medical Association Hall of Fame.

Dr. Jemison is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Science; Association of Space Explorers: Honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; board of Directors of Scholastic, Inc.; Board of Directors of Houston's UNICEF; Board of Trustees Spelman College; Board of Directors Aspen Institute; board of Directors Keystone Center; and the National Research Council Space Station Review Committee. She has presented at the UN and internationally on the uses of space technology, was the subject of a PBS Documentary, THE NEW EXPLORERS; ENDEAVOUR by Kurtis Production and appeared in an episode of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION. In 1992, the Mae C. Jemison Academy, and alternative public school in Detroit was established. Jemison currently resides in Houston, TX.