Mae C. Jemison was born October 17, 1956 in Decatur, Alabama, but considers Chicago, Illinois, her hometown. She graduated from Stanford University in 1977 with a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering (and completed a bachelor's degree in African and African American Studies). Dr. Jemison also obtained a doctorate in Medicine from Cornell University in 1981. After graduating from medical school, she completed postgraduate medical training at the Los Angeles County University of Southern California Medical Center. As the Peace Corps doctor of the region for Sierra Leone and Liberia in West Africa, she managed the health care delivery system for the US Peace Corps and the staff. from the United States Embassy. Jemison has worked in the fields of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and reproductive biology. She has also developed and participated in research projects on the vaccine against hepatitis B and rabies. Jemison was a general practitioner and took engineering courses in Los Angeles when she was named an astronaut candidate in 1987. She made her first flight as a STS-47 science mission specialist, Spacelab-J, in September 1992. She has been co-investigator for the Bone Cell Research Experiment as part of this mission. In making his first spaceflight, Jemison completed 190 hours, 30 minutes and 23 seconds in space. Jemison resigned from NASA in March 1993. In 1994, she founded The Earth We Share (TEWS), an annual international science camp where students aged 12 to 16 work together to solve the current global dilemmas. From 1995 to 2002, she was a professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College. She is currently Director of the Jemison Institute for Advancing Technology in developing countries. She has received numerous awards and honors, including an induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame and several corporate boards at the Texas Governor's State Council for Science and Biotechnology Development. Dr. Jemison published her memoirs, Find Where FROM: The Wind Goes: Moments from My Life in 2001. She currently resides in Houston, Texas.
