Mae Carol Jemison is a chemical engineer, physician, teacher, and former astronaut. At the age of 12, Jemison entered high school, and she was really passionate about science and dance; she was curious about astronomy, anthropology, and archaeology and learned African, Japanese, ballet, jazz, and several other styles of dance. She won a scholarship to Stanford University at the age of 16 and graduated in 1977 with a BSc degree in Chemical Engineering and a B.A degree in African and African-American studies. During that period she served as the head of the Black Students Union and choreographed a musical called "Out of the Shadows". Dr. Jemison received her medical degree from Cornell University in 1981 and worked as a volunteer in several countries including Cuba, Kenya, and Thailand. She was part of the Hepatitis B vaccine, schistosomiasis, and rabies research with the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Jemison applied to NASA's astronaut program and was accepted as one of fifteen astronaut candidates in 1987 for the space mission STS-47. She became the first African American woman to go into space in 1992. During the space mission, she was a co-investigator in the bone cell research experiment. Fun fact: Dr. Jemison really enjoyed watching Star Trek as a child and that is how her interest in Astronomy started. Post-NASA endeavor, in 1993, she appeared in an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation", episode "second chances". Relevant articles: Frazer, J. and Jemison, M.C., 1993. Advancing African health care through space technology: an interview with Dr. Mae C. Jemison. Africa Today, pp.70-73. Thiel, K., 2017. Mae C. Jemison: First African American Woman in Space. Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC. NASA.gov: https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/whos_who_level2/jemison.html Ola Salama Masters student
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AuthorWe are graduate students at the Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba Archives
October 2023
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