Dr. Mae Carol Jemison was born October 17, 1956 in Decatur, Alabama. Jemison became a NASA astronaut and physician and was the first African American woman to travel in space on September 12, 1992 aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. She attended Stanford University at the young age of 16 and graduated in 1977 with a B.S. in chemical engineering and a B.A. in African and Afro American Studies. She received her Doctor of Medicine degree from Cornell Medical College at Cornell University in 1981. Following medical school she worked in the Peace Corps from 1983 to 1985 as a Peace Corps Medical Officer.
Jemison was selected as the first African American female candidate in the astronaut program by NASA on June 4, 1987. She added to her historic legacy when she participated in a space mission from September 12 to September 20, 1992 on STS-47 as a Mission Specialist. Dr. Jemison left NASA in March of 1993. She currently is a Professor at Large at Cornell University and a former professor of Environmental Studies at Dartmouth College. Jemison is also the founder and president of BioSentient Corporation and The Jemison Group, Inc.