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12/18/09 - NASA Astronaut to Keynote MLK Celebration |
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African American woman to travel in space, will be the keynote speaker for the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
The event starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, in Aycock Auditorium. The event is open to the public at no charge, however tickets are required. Tickets will be available at the UNCG Box Office beginning Tuesday, Jan. 19.
The university will also award the Martin Luther King Service Award to a deserving UNCG student that evening. The award honors a student whose community activities and involvement embody the spirit of King’s service to humanity.
Jemison, an accomplished engineer and medical doctor, spent 190 hours, 30 minutes and 23 seconds in orbit during her space mission in September 1992. Raised in Chicago, she earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and fulfilled the requirements for a bachelor’s in African and Afro-American Studies from Stanford University. She earned a doctorate degree in medicine from Cornell University, and worked in the engineering and medical fields before joining the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1987.
Jemison served as a NASA astronaut for six years, conducting experiments in life sciences, material sciences and bone cell research during her space flight in 1992. After her resignation from NASA in 1993, she founded the The Jemison Group, Inc., a company focused on the beneficial integration of science and technology into our everyday lives. 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 telecommunications to facilitate health care delivery in West Africa.
More recently, Jemison developed a new business, BioSentient Corporation, a medical technology company that creates and markets mobile equipment worn to monitor the body’s vital signs and train people to respond favorably in stressful situations. She’s also the founder and chair of The Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence, a non-profit organization which annually sponsors The Earth We Share, an annual international science camp.
Jemison serves on the boards of many notable organizations and state agencies, including Scholastic, Inc. Her many honors include induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame and an honorary Doctor of Humanities from Princeton University.
Jemison, the author of the collection of autobiographical anecdotes “Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments from My Life,” resides in Houston.
For more information, contact the Office of Multicultural Affairs at (336) 334-5090.
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