During Black History Month, join us in celebrating biomedical engineer Dr. Mae Jemison – born on October 17, 1956 in Decatur, Alabama. Growing up during the Apollo era, she questioned why there were no women astronauts. In school she was recognized as a brilliant student and became interested in biomedical engineering in high school. At 16 years of age, she studied chemical engineering at Stanford University and graduated from Stanford University in 1977. 

At the age of 24, she earned her Medical Doctorate (MD) from Cornell University Medical College in1981. During her medical training, she worked in Cuba, Kenya, and at a Cambodian refugee camp in Thailand. Following graduation, Dr. Jemison completed her internship at the Los Angeles County University of Southern California Medical Center and worked as a general practitioner before serving as a Peace Corps medical officer. In the Peace Corps she served as medical officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia from 1983 to 1985. 

In 1985 she submitted an application to NASA, but it was delayed by the Challenger disaster, but she reapplied in 1987 and was one of fifteen applicants accepted. Later, in June 1987, she was selected as an astronaut candidate as part of Group 12. She subsequently completed a one-year training and evaluation program to become a mission specialist in August 1988. While waiting for her opportunity to go into space, she served as an astronaut office representative at Cape Canaveral, Florida at the Kennedy Space Centre, where she verified space shuttle software and processed it for launching. And in September 1992, she became the first African American woman in space aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour (a week-long mission).

Photo Credit: The Researcher’s Gateway

Photo: Dr. Mae Jemison

Photo Credit: BlackDoctor.org