Former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison to speak at UAFS

Dr. Mae Jemison, author, astronaut and entrepreneur, will be a guest speaker April 9 at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith and share her experiences as a leader in the field of science and exploration.

Jemison made history in 1992 as a science mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, where she conducted experiments in material science, life science and human adaptation to weightlessness. She was NASA’s first science mission specialist, selected for her expertise in engineering and medicine, and the first woman of color to travel to space.

Jemison’s keynote, “Exploring the Frontiers of Science and Human Potential,” will be followed by an audience question and answer and a book signing. The event is scheduled for 6 p.m., April 9 in the Reynolds Room of the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center at UAFS. Copies of her memoir, “Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments from My Life,” will be available for purchase. The event is free and open to the public.

Before joining NASA, Jemison was a Peace Corps medical officer in Sierra Leone and Liberia, where she managed healthcare delivery, developed medical training programs and conducted research on vaccines.

Her talk is part of the Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lecturer Program (WRDL), which was established in 1972 by friends of Governor Winthrop Rockefeller.

“We are proud to welcome Dr. Mae Jemison as the UAFS Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lecturer this year. Dr. Jemison has been a groundbreaker and adventurer her entire life,” said Dr. Cammie Sublette, English professor and member of the WRDL committee at UAFS.

Jemison began college at age 16 and earned dual degrees in chemical engineering and African American Studies from Stanford University. She has a medical degree from Cornell University Medical College, a degree she completed when she was 25.

“After practicing medicine as a doctor in the Peace Corp in West Africa, Jemison joined NASA and became the first African American woman to travel to space, where she studied the effects of extended periods of weightlessness on human physiology and well-being. She also acted as a science teacher and mentor while in space, sharing a number of science experiments and demonstrations with teachers and students back on earth,” Sublette said.

Jemison is the founder of 100 Year Starship, a nonprofit initiative working to ensure that the capabilities for human interstellar travel exist within the next century. The project, initially funded by DARPA, aims to push advancements in technology, engineering, and human systems while also addressing critical global challenges.

She also founded The Jemison Group, Inc., a consulting firm that integrates social and cultural perspectives into technology and science projects, and BioSentient Corp., a medical technology company focused on human performance and health.

“Since traveling to space, Dr. Jemison has added professor, author, and entrepreneur to her incredible list of accomplishments. She remains the only real astronaut who has appeared on Star Trek (as Lt. Palmer),” Sublette said.

Jemison is a fellow of the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study at Texas A&M University and a visiting scholar at EnMed, Texas A&M’s engineering medical school. She has also served as an environmental studies professor at Dartmouth College, where she focused on sustainability in industrial and developing world technologies.

An advocate for STEM education and diversity in science, Jemison founded The Earth We Share (TEWS), an international science literacy program.

Jemison is the university’s second speaker through the WRDL program.The program assists the faculty at six University of Arkansas campuses in obtaining visiting lecturers to share ideas and drive public debate and cultural advancement. UAFS is the most recent university to join the group.