11/12/02

Diane B. Clifton, 334-844-5117

Dr. Mae Jemison

FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMAN IN SPACE TO SPEAK AT AU

AUBURN -- Dr. Mae Jemison, an Alabama native who was the first African-American woman in space, will lecture at Auburn University on Nov. 20 on the importance of science education.

The noted physician, engineer, astronaut, scientist, educator, author and business entrepreneur -- will speak on "Becoming Who You Intend To Be."

Jemison's lecture will begin at 2 p.m., at the AU Hotel and Dixon Conference Center auditorium.

The program is free and open to the public, but many in attendance will include AU's K-12 partners. Public school students from West Alabama and Auburn area schools will attend the lecture as a special science field trip. Students from AU's minority engineering program will also attend.

The lecture has a two-fold purpose: to promote the importance of science education at the K-12 and college levels and underscore the importance of increasing participation of women and minorities in science and technology fields.

"Dr. Mae Jemison is one of the top scientists in America," says David Wilson, vice president for University Outreach at AU. "She is a model of academic and intellectual excellence. We are truly excited to have her on campus to talk about ways in which we as a state and society can promote more rigorous and exciting science curricula in our schools." Wilsonıs office and the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs are sponsoring Jemisonıs lecture. Keenan Grenell, interim assistant provost for the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, said Jemisonıs trail-blazing career could have a positive effect on Alabama science education.

"Dr. Jemison is perhaps the single most important dignitary to visit the East Alabama area this year," he said. "Her work and ideas regarding math and science education will have a major impact on the ongoing quest in this area for transformative educational approaches.

"Not only should we embrace and welcome her, but we should also pay tribute to her by following through on the progressive recommendations she will chart as a course for us to follow," Grenell added.

Jemison, born in Decatur and raised in Chicago, earned degrees in engineering and African and Afro-American studies at Stanford University. She earned her doctorate in medicine at Cornell University Medical College.

Prior to joining the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1987, Jemison worked in engineering and medicine. She was a general practitioner in Los Angeles, then spent more than two years as Area Peace Corps medical officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia in West Africa.

Jemison became the first black woman in space in 1992, when the space shuttle Endeavour blasted into space. As the science mission specialist on the Spacelab J flight, a U.S.-Japan joint mission, she conducted experiments in life sciences, material sciences and was a co-investigator for the Bone Cell Research experiment.

Jemison resigned from NASA in 1993 and founded The Jemison Group Inc., a company that focuses on the beneficial integration of science and technology into everyday life. Company projects have included consulting on the design and implementation of solar thermal electricity generation systems for developing countries and remote areas and the use of satellite-based telecommmunications to facilitate health care delivery in West Africa.

She is building a new 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. Originally designed to control motion sickness, the new technology could have wide applications in the areas of health and human performance.

In 1994, Jemison founded and now chairs The Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence, a non-profit organization. One component of the foundation is an annual international science camp for students aged 12-16 from all over the world.

While she is in Auburn, her focus will be on Alabama's public school students.

"As part of Outreach's Educational Mission, which is to improve its partnerships with K-12 and provide expert assistance to Alabama's public school systems, Dr. Jemison's visit will be enormously beneficial to school children throughout the state," said Royrickers Cook, special assistant to Wilson. "This lecture will allow students to visually connect the wonders of space travel with someone who actually works and has experienced space exploration."

Jemison has made presentations to the United Nations on the uses of space technology. She has received numerous awards and honors, including induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame, the Johnson Publications Black Achievement Trailblazers Award, the National Medical Association Hall of Fame and an honorary doctorate in humanities from Princeton University.

In the cultural arena, Jemison was host and technical advisor to the Discovery Channelıs "World of Wonder" from 1994-95, and was the subject of the Public Broadcasting Service documentary "The New Explorers." Her first book, Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments From My Life, autobiographical anecdotes about growing up, was written for teenagers and was published in 2001. The book will be available for purchase at the Nov. 20 lecture, and Jemison will have a book-signing session at about 3:30 p.m., following her speech.

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CONTACT: Cook, 334/ 844-5840.