maejemison

Mae Jemison was born on October 17, 1956. As a young girl and teenager, Mae was 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 African-American studies and then studied medicine at Cornell University. After completing her medical internship, Mae joined the Peace Corps and worked as doctor in Africa.
 * Mae Jemison **

Mae first applied to NASA in October of 1985 while she was working as a doctor. She made history when she became the first black woman selected to be an astronaut by NASA and was one of 15 candidates selected from a field of nearly 2,000 aspiring astronauts. On September 12, 1992, Mae became the first African-American female to go into space. She swas a science mission specialist during an 8 voyage on the Space Shuttle //Endeavour//. Her job was to study weightlessness and motion sickness. She also conducted an experiment with tadpoles.

In March of 1993, Mae decided to leave NASA and and become a teacher at Dartmouth College. She has cosponsored an annual International Science Camp for kids aged 12 to 16 that is free to qualified applicants and promoted science for kids by serving as the National School Literacy Advocate for the Bayer Corporation's program "Making Science Make Sense." In 2001, she published her autobiography //Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments from My Life//, which was aimed at children in grades 7-12.