America’s first African-American woman in space speaks March 30 at Appalachian

Posted March 16, 2016 at 9:23 a.m.

BOONE—Dr. Mae Jemison will present the talk “Exploring the Frontiers of Science and Human Potential” March 30 at Appalachian State University. Her talk will begin at 7 p.m. in the Schaeffer Center for the Performing Arts. Admission is free and the public is invited to attend.

Jemison is the first African-American woman to go into space. She served six years as a NASA astronaut. She flew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, STS-47 Spacelab (Japan) mission in September 1992 and was NASA’s first science mission specialist, performing experiments in material science, life science and human adaptation to weightlessness. Prior to joining NASA, Jemison, a medical doctor, was the area Peace Corps medical officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia.

She is currently leading 100 Year Starship (100YSS), an initiative seed funded by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) to assure the capability for human interstellar space travel to another star is possible within the next 100 years.

Jemison was the Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University and was a professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College from 1995 to 2002.

She founded the technology consulting firm The Jemison Group Inc. that integrates the critical impact of socio-cultural issues when designing and implementing technologies, such as their projects on using satellite technology for health care delivery in West Africa and solar dish Stirling engines for electricity generation in developing countries.

Sponsors of Jemison’s campus visit are the University Forum Committee, Joan Askew Vail Endowment and the Office of Multicultural Student Development.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.