23. Stephanie Wilson - Black American (African American) Engineer 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.
Source: NASA/Wikimedia Commons
Stephanie Wilson is the second Black American woman to go to space. She is also an engineer and NASA astronaut.
Wilson would clock up a total of 42 days in space which is more than any other Black American astronaut.
Biography (Life) of Stephanie Wilson - Black American Engineer and NASA Astronaut
Stephanie was born on the 27th September 1966 in Boston, Massachusetts. Her family would move a year later to the Pittsfield.
Her father had a long career in electronic engineering and worked for Raytheon, Sprague Electric, and Lockheed Martin.
Education of Stephanie Wilson - Black American Engineer and NASA Astronaut
Stephanie graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelors Degree of Science in Engineering Science in 1988. She later earned a Masters of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the Univesity of Texas in 1992.
The career of Stephanie Wilson - Black American Engineer and NASA Astronaut
After graduating, she worked for a couple of years for the former Martin Marietta Astronautics Group in Denver, Colorado. Whilst there, she worked as a loads and dynamics engineer for the Titan IV rocket.
Stephanie left Martin Marietta to attend the University Texas in 1990. Once she had graduated again, Wilson began working at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California where she remained until joining NASA.
NASA and Stephanie Wilson - Black American Engineer and NASA Astronaut
Stephanie was selected by the NASA Astronaut Program in April of 1996. Two years later she qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist.
She would fly on no less than three space shuttle missions, STS-121 (2006), STS-120 (2007), and STS-131 (2010).
Awards and Honors of Stephanie Wilson - Black American Engineer and NASA Astronaut
Stephanie has various awards and honors including The NASA Distinguished Service Medal and NASA Space Fight Medal to name but a few. She has also been given an honorary Doctorate from Williams College.