A biography of Mae Jemison's life.

1. Mae Carol Jemison
Physician, scientist, teacher, engineer, businesswoman,
medical officer, first African-American to travel to space
Julia Hamza WST 2010

2. Childhood
• Mae Jemison was born on October 17, 1956 in Dectar, Alabama
• Youngest of 3 to parents Charlie Jemison and Dorothy Green Jemison
• At 3 years old, Mae and her family moved to Chicago, Il for better
educational opportunities
• Mae spent much of her time during elementary school in the library reading
books about various science fields
• While she was in Morgan Park High School, Mae wanted to have a career in
science.
• She graduated at the age of 16 as an honor student and went to Stanford
University for Chemical Engineering on a National Achievement Scholarship

3. College
• Engineering was for males, not African-American girls
• At Stanford University, Mae had to prove herself worthy of being a part of the
field of engineering. To get noticed by the engineering and science
professors, Mae had to work much harder than the other students
• Mae graduated from Stanford with a BA of science in chemical engineering
and a BA of arts in African and African-American studies
• She continued her education at Cornell University and had the opportunity
to study in Cuba and Kenya. She received her degree in medicine in 1981
• Mae served in the Peace Corps after Cornell from January 1983 – June 1985
as a medical officer in Liberia and Sierra Leone in West Africa

4. NASA
• In October and November of 1985, Mae applied for admission to NASA’s
astronaut training program. She was chosen among 15 out of 2,000. She,
then, became the first African-American woman to attend the program
• After over a year of training, Mae became a science mission specialist.
• In 1989, Mae and 5 others were assigned to space shuttle Endeavor on
mission STS47. The shuttle was scheduled to take off on September 12, 1992
and return on September 20th which would make her the first African-
American female to travel to space
• The crew was monitored over 4 experiments while in space. Some of the
experiments investigated motion sickness, bone cell loss in space, and
human physiology

5. Life After NASA
• In the beginning of 1993, Mae left NASA to teach a space technology
course, at Dartmouth College, called “Space Age Technology in Developing
Countries.” The class was very popular among minority groups and women
• During that same year, Mae founded the Jemison Group. The goals of the
Jemison Group are to bring advanced technology to developing countries,
promote science education, and help get people involved in space
exploration

6. For the Children
Mae wanted to help children in school, particularly in science
• She sponsored a month long summer camp, International Science Camp, for
kids 12 to 16. It taught critical thinking and experimental learning
• She served as the National School Literacy Advocate for the Bayer
Corporation’s program “Making Science Make Sense.”

7. Mae Jemison is a Member of…
• American Medical Association
• American Chemistry Society
• American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Board director for the World Sickle Cell Foundation
• Advisory Committee of the American Express Geography Competition
• Honorary board of the Center for Prevention of Childhood Malnutrition