What is Visions for Tomorrow?
Mae C. Jemison
Mae C. Jemison- Mae C. Jemison blasted into orbit aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on September 12, 1992, becoming the first woman of color to go into space. Now, founder and president of two technology companies, the space flight was just one of a series of accomplishments for this dynamic woman.
- Dr. Jemison served as a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut for six years. Dr. Jemison resigned from NASA in March 1993.
- Currently, Dr. Jemison’s focus is on a new business, BioSentient Corporation, a medical technology company that develops and markets mobile equipment worn to monitor the body’s vital signs and train people to respond favorably in stressful situations. BioSentient was created in July 1999 by The Jemison Group, Inc., which holds the exclusive license from NASA to commercialize this exciting new technology. Originally designed to control motion sickness, it presents significant opportunities across a wide spectrum of health and human performance areas.
- In 1994, Dr. Jemison founded The Earth We Share™ (TEWS), an annual international science camp where students from around the world, ages 12 to 16, work together to solve current global dilemmas. TEWS is a program of the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Dr. Jemison also serves as Bayer Corporation’s national science literacy advocate.
- Dr. Jemison is an A.D. White professor-at-large at Cornell University. Dr. Jemison was a professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College from 1995 - 2002, where she directed the Jemison Institute for Advancing Technology in Developing Countries. S.E.E.ing the Future (Science, Engineering and Education), an institute project and workshop, is a white paper that discusses a framework for prioritizing governmental funding of science and engineering research.
- Dr. Jemison’s first book, “Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments From My Life” — autobiographical anecdotes about growing up written for teenagers — was published in Spring 2001.
- Prior to joining NASA in 1987, Dr. Jemison worked in both engineering and medicine. She then spent two and a half years (1983-1985) as Area Peace Corps medical officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia in West Africa.
- Dr. Jemison entered Stanford University at 16 on a scholarship. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering and fulfilled the requirements for an A.B. in African and Afro-American studies. She earned her doctorate in medicine at Cornell University Medical College. A noted lecturer, Dr. Jemison speaks nationally and internationally on science literacy, sustainable development, education, achieving excellence, the importance of increased participation of women and minorities in the science and technology fields and investing in the present to secure the future.
- She serves on the board of directors for Scholastic, Inc. and Valspar Corporation, Kimberly-Clark Corporation and Gen-Probe. She is the chair of both the Texas State Life Sciences and Biotechnology Industry Cluster, and the Texas Small Business Incubator and Product Development Board, and is on the advisory board of the National Center for Human Performance. She is also a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.
- She has received numerous honors and a number of honorary doctorate degrees.