11. Mae C. Jemison - Black American (African American) Engineer, Physician, and NASA Astronaut
Black Inventors - The Complete List of Genius Black American (African American) Inventors, Scientists and Engineers with Their Revolutionary Inventions That Changed the World and Impacted the History - Part One
Countless important contributions to STEM have come from genius Black Americans. They range from revolutionary cancer research to the humble ice cream scoop.
11. Mae C. Jemison - Black American (African American) Engineer, Physician, and NASA Astronaut
Source: NASA/Wikimedia Commons
Mae C. Jemison is an American physician, engineer and NASA astronaut. She was the first Black American woman to ever travel in space on the Space Shuttle Endeavor in 1992.
Biography (Life) of Mae C. Jemison - Black American Engineer, Physician and NASA Astronaut
She was born on the 17th October 1956 in Decatur, Alabama. Her father was a maintenance supervisor for a charity and her mother was an elementary school teacher.
She was fascinated with things related to science from a young age. Mae, much to her parent's dismay, performed a series of experiments with some pus after she suffered from an infection.
After seeing this, her parents knew they had to support her later decision to go into science.
Education of Mae C. Jemison - Black American Engineer, Physician and NASA Astronaut
Jemison graduated from Morgan Park High School in Chicago in 1973. She received her bachelors of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University in 1977.
She would pursue and complete a doctorate degree in Medicine from Cornell University in 1981.
Medical Career of Mae C. Jemison - Black American Engineer, Physician and NASA Astronaut
Dr. Jemison, postdoctoral studies, completed an internship at Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center in 1982. She then worked as a GP with INA/Ross Loos Medical Group in LA until December of the same year.
Between 1983 and 1985 she worked as the Area Peace Corps Medical Officer in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
She returned to the U.S. in 1985 and joined the CIGNA Health Plans of California working, once again as a GP.
NASA Career of Mae C. Jemison - Black American Engineer, Physician and NASA Astronaut
In 1987, she applied for and was accepted into the NASA Astronaut Program. During her time with NASA, she was responsible for aiding launch activities at the Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, verification of Shuttle computer software and other avionics work on the Space Shuttle Program.
She was the science mission specialist aboard STS-47 Spacelab-J in September of 1992. This Space Shuttle Mission aboard Endeavour would complete 127 orbits of the Earth and clock up over 190 hours in space.
She resigned from NASA the following year in March of 1993.
Filmography of Mae C. Jemison - Black American Engineer, Physician and NASA Astronaut
Mae has made various TV appearances throughout her life including a 1993 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, as Lieutenant Palmer.
She has also made various appearances in other TV programs as herself.
Honors and Awards of Mae C. Jemison - Black American Engineer, Physician and NASA Astronaut
Mae has received many honors and awards throughout her career. Many are listed here on her official NASA biography.