Stephen William Hawking

( Oxford , January 8 , 1942 – Cambridge , March 14, 2018 ) was

a British physicist , cosmologist and mathematician .
Hawking at NASA in the 1980s

Personal information

Full name Stephen William Hawking

Date of birth January 8 , 1942

Birthplace Oxford

Date of death March 14 , 2018

Place of death Cambridge

Scientific work

Discipline Applied mathematics

Theoretical physics
Cosmology

Known from Black hole

Hawking radiation

Promoter Dennis William Sciama

Life cycle [ edit | edit source text ]

Youth [ edit | edit source text ]

Hawking was born on January 8, 1942. His parents, Frank and Isobel Hawking, lived in London , but
due to the bombing of London during World War II they had moved to the safer Oxford. His father
was a doctor specializing in tropical medicine and his mother was a secretary at a medical research
institute. Isobel Hawking returned to London when Hawking was two weeks old. In 1950 his father
got a new job at the National Institute of Medical Research in Mill Hill and the whole family moved to
closer Saint Albans .

In 1952, Hawking first went to a girls' school that also admitted boys, later to a boys' school. His
father wanted him to go to the higher ranked Westminster Public School, but because he fell ill
during his exams, the transfer was cancelled. At school, Hawking only had a few friends. Hawking
became interested in mathematics and physics at an early age . His father insisted that he, like
himself, study medicine , but Hawking did not want this. As a compromise, chemistry with
mathematics and physics was chosen.

Study [ edit | edit source text ]

When Hawking was 17 years old, he took the entrance exam to Oxford University and went on to
study physics. He was very talented in his areas of interest and won the university's physics prize in
his second year of study. Yet he barely passed the exam and barely completed the mandatory 1,000
hours of study in the third year. He could only answer the theoretical questions, but the exam also
required factual knowledge. After an interview he was allowed to continue studying. From that
moment on, he was regarded as someone who had to work hard for good grades, but always passed
the exams.

Career [ edit | edit source text ]

In 1962 he started working as a doctoral student under Dennis Sciama at Trinity Hall at the University
of Cambridge . After obtaining his PhD in 1966 (with the thesis Singularities and the geometry of
space-time ), he was offered a research fellowship at Gonville and Caius College in Cambridge, first as
a researcher and later as a staff member. In 1973 he left that institute and joined the faculty of
applied mathematics and theoretical physics. A year later he was elected a Fellow of the Royal
Society .

In 1974, Hawking attended the Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Scholar program

at Caltech in Pasadena, California . As a welcome gesture, the entire campus was made wheelchair
accessible. [1] :19 From that year on he attended Caltech every year, sometimes staying there for a
month. The trips were arranged by his friend Kip Thorne , who also studied Einstein 's general
theory of relativity . [1] :140

In 1977 he became professor of gravitational physics and in 1980 he became Lucasian professor of
mathematics. This gave him the same chair that Newton first had. Hawking resigned from his
position on September 30, 2009, but continued to work at Cambridge University.

Disease [ edit | edit source text ]

In 1962, during his last days at Oxford, Hawking noticed that he was becoming increasingly clumsy,
slurring his speech, and prone to falling over and bumping into things. During Christmas 1962, his
parents also noticed something strange about him. Hawking was hospitalized for two weeks in early
1963. The diagnosis was amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This is an incurable disease that attacks
nerve cells until the body is completely paralyzed. The thinking ability is not affected by the disease.

It was thought that he would not obtain his doctorate due to the illness, but against all odds he
still obtained his doctorate. In 1970 he could still walk with a walker, but from 1972 he was in a
wheelchair. By 1975, his speech had deteriorated to such an extent that there were only a few
people who still understood him and could act as interpreters for him. [1] :128 He and his wife had to
move to an apartment because he could no longer climb stairs in his wheelchair . Until 1979, his wife
Jane could care for him alone, after which it became necessary to hire a nurse.

In the summer of 1985, Hawking contracted life-threatening pneumonia during a visit

to CERN in Geneva . He ended up in intensive care and had to be kept alive with ventilators. When
doctors advised his wife Jane to turn off the ventilator because they no longer gave him a chance of
survival, she suggested a tracheotomy . [2] The procedure saved his life, but his voice, already severely
weakened by dysarthria , was now permanently lost. From now on, Hawking could only
communicate through his wife, who pointed to the letters, while Hawking raised his eyebrows when
she reached the correct letter. Having a normal conversation or writing books was no longer possible.

About a year later, one of his supervisors saw a documentary on the BBC about a computer program
for the severely disabled and tracked down the developer. Hawking was given glasses with a sensor
that detected the movement of his cheek, so he could control the computer's cursor. [1] :90

Walt Woltosz (the director of Words Plus, who had developed tools for his mother-in-law, who also
suffered from ALS) sent him a computer program called Equalizer that allowed him to select words
by moving his cheek. He also sent a speech computer, which gave Hawking a voice again, albeit one
with an American accent. Later, the computer and voice system were built into his wheelchair, so he
no longer had to carry a laptop. This system had a number of advantages: he could create a lot of
text in advance and have it played back later, during a conference, or printed immediately.

From 2004 onwards, Hawking required 24-hour care and was professionally nursed. Yet he still
remained active in physics. At the end of 2008, he reportedly more permanently withdrew from his
professional activities. In April 2009, Hawking was admitted to hospital with an infection in his chest
area.

Hawking thought that his illness may have been due to the fact that he was not
absorbing nutrients properly . That's why he added vitamin and mineral tablets , zinc , cod liver
oil , folic acid , vitamin B , vitamin B12 , vitamin C and vitamin E to his diet . [3] Furthermore, he
avoided gluten , vegetable oil and ready-made foods . In addition, he underwent
passive physiotherapy on the chest and passive and active physiotherapy on all limbs and muscle
groups. [3]

Death [ edit | edit source text ]

Hawking's health continued to deteriorate and he canceled public appearances at the end of
2015. [4] After this he only made sporadic publicity, but he did make a few guest appearances in the
comedy show The Big Bang Theory . [5] He died at home surrounded by his family in the early
morning of March 14, 2018. [6] [7] The funeral ceremony was privately held on March 31 at Great St
Mary's , the university church in the center of Cambridge. [8] The scientist's ashes were interred
in Westminster Abbey in London. This puts his remains close to those of Isaac Newton and Charles
Darwin .

Work [ edit | edit source text ]

Hawking is best known for his work on black holes and singularities in cosmology . An important
discovery, made together with Roger Penrose , was that a singularity at the moment of the Big
Bang was inevitable in general relativity . A second important discovery was Hawking radiation ,
which is emitted by black holes and can cause them to "evaporate", one of the things that one
actually hopes to prove through the experiments at the Large Hadron Collider . Hawking also
developed the concept of imaginary time in cosmology. With this imaginary time he hoped to be able
to solve singularities such as in the Big Bang and in black holes.

Although he was already known before that, he became widely known after the publication of his
book A Brief History of Time , in Dutch Het Universe . It became a bestseller, in which he described
the state of affairs in cosmology. It was written with his voice computer.

In 2003, Hawking invited Leonard Mlodinow to write something with him . Hawking had read some
books by Mlodinow, who worked at Caltech. The first book was A Briefer History of Time (published
in Dutch as A Short History of Time ), published in 2005.

From August 2006, Hawking worked on three children's books with his daughter Lucy. In it he wanted
to "describe ideas and ideas about relativity and cosmology in the form of stories". The first book is
entitled George's Secret Key to the Universe and was published in September 2007 in the United
States, Great Britain, Spain, Italy and Germany. This book was published in the Netherlands in 2008
under the title The secret key to the universe .
The second book co-written with Mlodinow was The Grand Design: New Answers to the Ultimate
Questions of Life (published in Dutch as Het grote Ontwerp ); started in 2005, published in 2010. Both
books, jointly written by Hawking and Mlodinow, were written alternately in Cambridge and at
Caltech in California and via email communication.

An article that Hawking wrote with Thomas Hertog was published posthumously in the Journal of
High Energy Physics : 'A smooth exit from eternal inflation?'. [9]

Honors [ edit | edit source text ]

He was awarded an appointment as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1982 and in
1988 he was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honor . However, he refused
to be knighted - so no Sir Stephen Hawking.

Hawking also received dozens of foreign awards, including membership in the United States National
Academy of Sciences . In 2006 he received the Copley Medal : the highest award given by the Royal
Society of London for extraordinary achievements in scientific research. In August 2009, Hawking was
one of very few non-Americans to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom , the highest American
award for civilians, by then- President Obama .

Personal [ edit | edit source text ]

Hawking had two younger sisters and an adopted brother. Frank and Isobel's family read a lot, even
during meals. In 1962, when Hawking had only recently lived in Cambridge, Robert Donovan came to
live in the same student house. Meeting this chemistry student resulted in a lifelong friendship.

Hawking was married to Jane Wilde from 1965 to 1995. They had three children: Robert
(1967), Lucy (1970) and Timothy (1979). Later he also had three grandchildren.

From his tracheotomy in 1985, Hawking required care 24 hours a day, seven days a week. From then
on, he didn't have a single private moment. In 1986 his father died.

Six months after divorcing Jane, in 1995, he remarried to Elaine Mason, his nurse and ex-wife of
David Mason, who designed the first version of Hawking's speech computer [10] [ 11 ] . He also
divorced her at the end of 2006 after eleven years of marriage. His mother died in 2013.

Some years before, Diana Finn was one of his caregivers. Hawking and she shared a preference for
the same classical writers (including Charles Dickens and Lev Tolstoy ), and for the same music. She
read to him for hours and often played for him on the piano he had bought for her. [1] :233 In 2013 he
proposed to her, but later decided against it as his children did not like her. Diana was not at
Hawking's funeral as she was not on the guest list. She was still able to pay her last respects because
a friend of Hawking managed to guide her into the church after the ceremony. She was also not
present at the interment of the remains in Westminster Abbey, because she was not on the guest list
there. [1] :246-249

Books [ edit | edit source text ]

 The Grand Design: New Answers to the Ultimate Questions of Life , with Leonard Mlodinow
Bantam Press, 2010, ISBN 0553805371

 A Briefer History of Time , with Leonard Mlodinow, Bantam Books, 2005. Published in Dutch
as A Short History of Time , publisher Prometheus / Bert Bakker, 2005

 On the Shoulders of Giants , 2002

  The Universe in a Nutshell . Published in Dutch as The Universe , 2001

 A Brief History of Time . Published in Dutch as The Universe , Bert Bakker publishers, 1988

 Stephen Hawking's Universe: The Cosmos Explained

 Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays 1993, Einstein's dream , Ooievaar
publishers, 1997

 The Cambridge Lectures: Life Works

 Computer Resources for People With Disabilities

 A Guide to Exploring Today's Assistive Technology

 The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time

 The Nature of Space and Time

 My Brief History , autobiography

 God Created the Integers . Running press

 Brief answers to the Big Questions , 2018. Published in Dutch as The answers to the big
questions , Spectrum publishers, 2018

Isaac Newton Institute Series of Lectures

 Euclidean Quantum Gravity

 The Formation and Evolution of Cosmic Strings

 Hawking on the Big Bang and Black Holes

Advanced Series in Astrophysics and Cosmology, Vol 8

 Historia del tiempo

Children's books

Together with his daughter:

 George's Secret Key to the Universe

 George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt , The treasure in the universe

 George and the big bang on the universe

 George and the unbreakable code

Trivia [ edit | edit source text ]

Pink Floyd in 1971Nolwenn Leroy in 2013

 In his 2010 book The Grand Design , in interviews with The Daily Telegraph and in
the Channel 4 documentary Genius of Britain , he stated that he did not believe in a personal
God. He wrote: The question is: is the way the universe began chosen by God for reasons we
can't understand, or was it determined by a law of science? I believe the second. He
added: Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from
 nothing. He also stated that he preferred science, based on observation and reason, to
religion, based on dogma and faith.

 In 2013, he joined PACBI , the first organization of the Palestinian-founded BDS movement ,
which calls for boycotting Israeli cultural institutions. Hawking decided to refrain from
participating in the prestigious "The Israeli President's Conference" (created by
President Simon Peres ). It was not because of health problems, he said. If he had gone, he
would have had to criticize Israeli policy towards the Palestinians, [12] [13] He had criticized
Israel before, following its part in the 2014 conflict in the Gaza Strip .

 The film The Theory of Everything is based on the memoir Traveling to Infinity: My life with
Stephen , written by his ex-wife Jane.

 Hawking collaborated on various television series. He was featured in the series Into the
Universe with Stephen Hawking . He also played a brief role in Star Trek: The Next
Generation as a hologram of himself. He can be seen as himself in several episodes of The
Big Bang Theory . In The Simpsons , Family Guy , Futurama , Dexter's Lab and The Fairly
OddParents he appears as a cartoon character.

 In 2014, he appeared with colleague Brian Cox in a pre-recorded sketch in the Monty
Python Live show Live (mostly) in London. He sang The Galaxy Song by Eric Idle .

 His 'voice' can be heard in the songs Keep Talking and Talkin' Hawkin' by Pink Floyd and in
the intro song of the album Party Animals by Turbonegro .

 There is a Hawking impersonation in the digital animated film Sausage Party (2016). A piece
of chewing gum in a wheelchair introduces itself several times by listing the ingredients it
consists of ("Who are you?" "Sorbitol, malitol, xylitol. In other words, chewing gum.")

 Hawking inspired French singer-songwriter Nolwenn Leroy for her song Stephen , released on
her album Gemme in 2017. [14]

PERSON 2

Mae Jemison
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mae Jemison

Jemison in July 1992

Born Mae Carol Jemison

October 17, 1956 (age 67)

Decatur, Alabama, U.S.

Alma mater  Stanford University (BS, BA)

  Cornell University (MD)

Occupations  Physician

 engineer

 professor

Space career

NASA astronaut

Time in space 7d 22h 30m

Selection 1987 NASA Group

Missions STS-47

Mission insignia

Retirement March 1993

Mae Carol Jemison (born October 17, 1956) is an American engineer, physician, and
former NASA astronaut. She became the first African-American woman to travel into space when she
served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992. Jemison joined
NASA's astronaut corps in 1987 and was selected to serve for the STS-47 mission, during which
the Endeavour orbited the Earth for nearly eight days on September 12–20, 1992.

Born in Alabama and raised in Chicago, Jemison graduated from Stanford University with degrees
in chemical engineering as well as African and African-American studies. She then earned her
medical degree from Cornell University. Jemison was a doctor for the Peace
Corps in Liberia and Sierra Leone from 1983 until 1985 and worked as a general practitioner. In
pursuit of becoming an astronaut, she applied to NASA.

Jemison left NASA in 1993 and founded a technology research company. She later formed a non-
profit educational foundation and through the foundation is the principal of the 100 Year
Starship project funded by DARPA. Jemison also wrote several books for children and appeared on
television several times, including in a 1993 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. She holds
several honorary doctorates and has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and
the International Space Hall of Fame.

Early life and education

Mae Carol Jemison was born in Decatur, Alabama, on October 17, 1956,[1][2] the youngest of three
children of Charlie Jemison and Dorothy Jemison (née Green).[3] Her father was a maintenance
supervisor for a charity organization, and her mother worked most of her career as an elementary
school teacher of English and math at the Ludwig van Beethoven Elementary School
in Chicago, Illinois.[4][5] The family first lived in Woodlawn and later the Morgan Park neighborhoods.
[6]
Jemison knew from a young age that she wanted to study science and someday go into space.
[7]
The television show Star Trek and, in particular, African-American actress Nichelle Nichols'
portrayal of Lieutenant Uhura further stoked her interest in space.[8][9][10]

Jemison enjoyed studying nature and human physiology, using her observations to learn more about
science. Although her mother encouraged her curiosity[8] and both her parents were supportive of
her interest in science, she did not always see the same support from her teachers.[11] When Jemison
told a kindergarten teacher she wanted to be a scientist when she grew up, the teacher assumed she
meant she wanted to be a nurse.[12] Seeing a lack of female astronauts during the Apollo
missions also frustrated Jemison. She later recalled, "everybody was thrilled about space, but I
remember being really really irritated that there were no women astronauts."[7]

Jemison began studying ballet at the age of 8 or 9 and entered high school at 12 years old, where she
joined the cheerleading team and the Modern Dance Club.[13][14] Jemison had a great love for dance
from a young age. She learned several styles of dance, including African and Japanese, as well
as ballet, jazz, and modern dance. As a child, Jemison had aspirations of becoming a professional
dancer.[15] At the age of 14, she auditioned for the leading role of Maria in West Side Story. She did
not get the leading role but was selected as a background dancer.[16]

After graduating from Chicago's Morgan Park High School in 1973,[12] Jemison entered Stanford
University at the age of 16.[8] Although she was young to be leaving home for college, Jemison later
said it did not faze her because she was "naive and stubborn enough".[8] There were very few other
African-American students in Jemison's classes and she continued to experience discrimination from
her teachers.[17] In an interview with The Des Moines Register in 2008, Jemison said that it was
difficult to go to Stanford at 16 but that her youthful arrogance may have helped her;[18] she asserted
that some arrogance is necessary for women and minorities to be successful in a white male
dominated society.[18]

At Stanford, Jemison served as head of the Black Students Union.[11] She also choreographed a
musical and dance production called Out of the Shadows.[19] During her senior year in college, she
struggled with the choice between going to medical school or pursuing a career as a professional
dancer after graduation;[20] she graduated from Stanford in 1977, receiving a B.S. degree in chemical
engineering.[1][8] and B.A. degree in African and African-American studies.[21] While at Stanford, she
also pursued studies related to her childhood interest in space and first considered applying to NASA.
[22]

Medical career

Jemison attended Cornell Medical School and during her training, traveled to Cuba, to conduct a
study funded by American Medical Student Association and to Thailand, where she worked at a
Cambodian refugee camp.[23][21] She also worked for Flying Doctors stationed in East Africa.[21] During
her years at Cornell, Jemison continued to study dance by enrolling in classes at the Alvin Ailey
American Dance Theater.[13] After graduating with an M.D. degree in 1981, she interned at Los
Angeles County-USC Medical Center in 1982, and worked as a general practitioner for Ross–Loos
Medical Group.[1][21]

Jemison joined the staff of the Peace Corps in 1983 and served as a medical officer until 1985. She
was responsible for the health of Peace Corps volunteers serving in Liberia and Sierra Leone.[20]
[1]
Jemison supervised the Peace Corps' pharmacy, laboratory, medical staff as well as providing
medical care, writing self-care manuals, and developing and implementing guidelines for health and
safety issues. She also worked with the Centers for Disease Control helping with research for various
vaccines.[24]
Mae Jemison being fitted for a spacesuit and doing an experiment in space.

NASA career

Jemison at the Kennedy Space Center in 1992

Upon returning to the United States after serving in the Peace Corps, Jemison settled in Los
Angeles, California. In Los Angeles, she entered into private practice and took graduate-level
engineering courses. Inspired by the flights of Sally Ride and Guion Bluford in 1983, Jemison applied
to the astronaut program in October 1985.[4] After NASA postponed selection of new candidates after
the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, Jemison reapplied in 1987. She was chosen out of
roughly 2,000 applicants for 15 slots in NASA Astronaut Group 12, the first selected after Challenger.
[11]
The Associated Press covered her as the "first black woman astronaut" in 1987.[25] CBS featured
Jemison as one of the country's "most eligible singles" on Best Catches, a television special hosted
by Phylicia Rashad and Robb Weller in 1989.[26]

Jemison's work with NASA before her shuttle launch included launch support activities at
the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and verification of Shuttle computer software in the Shuttle
Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL).[27][28] On September 28, 1989, she was selected to join the STS-
47 crew as Mission Specialist 4 and was also designated Science Mission Specialist, a new astronaut
role being tested by NASA to focus on scientific experiments.[29]

STS-47

Main article: STS-47

Jemison during Space Shuttle mission STS-47

Jemison flew her only space mission from September 12 to 20, 1992, as one of the seven-member
crew aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour,[4][30] on mission STS-47, a cooperative mission between the
United States and Japan, as well as the 50th shuttle mission.[31] Jemison logged 190 hours, 30
minutes, 23 seconds in space and orbited the earth 127 times.[32][33] The crew was split into two shifts
with Jemison assigned to the Blue Shift. Throughout the eight-day mission, she began
communications on her shift with the salute "Hailing frequencies open", a quote from Star Trek.
[34]
Jemison took a poster from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater along with her on the flight.[8]
[35]
She also took a West African statuette[8] and a photo of pioneering aviator Bessie Coleman, the
first African American with an international pilot license.[36][8]

STS-47 carried the Spacelab Japan module, a cooperative mission between the United States and
Japan that included 43 Japanese and United States life science and materials processing experiments.
[29]
Jemison and Japanese astronaut Mamoru Mohri were trained to use the Autogenic Feedback
Training Exercise (AFTE),[37] a technique developed by Patricia S. Cowings that
uses biofeedback and autogenic training to help patients monitor and control their physiology as a
possible treatment for motion sickness, anxiety and stress-related disorders.[38][39]

Jemison aboard the Spacelab Japan module on Endeavour

Aboard the Spacelab Japan module, Jemison tested NASA's Fluid Therapy System, a set of procedures
and equipment to produce water for injection, developed by Sterimatics Corporation. She then
used IV bags and a mixing method, developed by Baxter Healthcare, to use the water from the
previous step to produce saline solution in space.[40] Jemison was also a co-investigator of two bone
cell research experiments.[24] Another experiment she participated in was to induce female frogs to
ovulate, fertilize the eggs, and then see how tadpoles developed in zero gravity.[41]
Resignation from NASA

Jemison resigned from NASA in March 1993 to start a company.[30][20][42] NASA training manager and
author Homer Hickam, who had trained Jemison for her flight, later expressed some regret that she
had departed.[8]

Post-NASA career

Jemison in 2013

Jemison served on the board of directors of the World Sickle Cell Foundation from 1990 to 1992.[7] In
1993, she founded The Jemison Group Inc., a consulting firm which considers
the sociocultural impact of technological advancements and design.[2][43] Jemison also founded the
Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence and named the foundation in honor of her mother.
[44]
One of the projects of the foundation is The Earth We Share, a science camp for students aged 12
to 16. Founded in 1994,[45] camps have been held at Dartmouth College, Colorado School of
Mines, Choate Rosemary Hall and other sites in the United States,[44] as well as internationally in
South Africa, Tunisia, and Switzerland.[46] The Dorothy Jemison Foundation also sponsors other
events and programs, including the Shaping the World essay competition, Listening to the Future (a
survey program that targets obtaining opinions from students), Earth Online (an online chatroom
that allows students to safely communicate and discuss ideas on space and science), and the Reality
Leads Fantasy Gala.[47]

Jemison was a professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College from 1995 to 2002 where
she directed the Jemison Institute for Advancing Technology in Developing Countries.[45][48] In 1999,
she also became an Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University.[45][49] Jemison continues
to advocate strongly in favor of science education and getting minority students interested in
science.[50] She is a member of various scientific organizations, such as the American Medical
Association, the American Chemical Society, the Association of Space Explorers and the American
Association for the Advancement of Science.[27]

In 1999, Jemison founded BioSentient Corp and obtained the license to commercialize AFTE, the
technique she and Mohri tested on themselves during STS-47.[38][39]

In 2012, Jemison made the winning bid for the DARPA 100 Year Starship project through the Dorothy
Jemison Foundation for Excellence. The Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence was awarded a
$500,000 grant for further work. The new organization maintained the organizational name 100 Year
Starship. Jemison is the current principal of the 100 Year Starship.[51]

In 2018, she collaborated with Bayer Crop Science and National 4-H Council for the initiative named
Science Matters which was aimed at encouraging young children to understand and
pursue agricultural sciences.[52][53]

Books

Jemison's first book, Find Where the Wind Goes (2001), is a memoir of her life written for children.[2]
[54]
She describes her childhood, her time at Stanford, in the Peace Corps and as an astronaut.
[55]
School Library Journal found the stories about her earlier life to be the most appealing.[55] Book
Report found that the autobiography gave a realistic view into her interactions with her professors,
whose treatment of her was not based on her intelligence but on stereotypes of woman of color.[56]

Her A True Book series of four children's books published in 2013 is co-authored with Dana Meachen
Rau.[57] Each book in the series has a "Find the Truth" challenge, true or false questions answers to
which are revealed at the end of the story.[57] School Library Journal found the series to be "properly
tantalizing surveys" of the Solar System but criticized the inclusion of a few outdated theories
in physics and astronomy.[58]

Public profile

Jemison at a symposium in 2009

LeVar Burton learned that Jemison was an avid Star Trek fan and asked her if she would be interested
in being on the show. In 1993, Jemison appeared as Lieutenant Palmer in "Second Chances", an
episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, becoming the first
real-life astronaut to appear on Star Trek.[59][60]

From 1999 to 2005, Jemison was appointed an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell
University.[61][62]

Jemison is an active public speaker who appears before private and public groups promoting science
and technology. "Having been an astronaut gives me a platform," says Jemison, "but I'd blow it if I
just talked about the Shuttle." Jemison uses her platform to speak out on the gap in the quality of
health-care between the United States and the Third World, saying that "Martin Luther King [Jr.] ...
didn't just have a dream, he got things done."[63] Jemison has also appeared as host and technical
consultant of the science series World of Wonder which aired on the Discovery Channel from 1994 to
1998.[64][65]

In 2006, Jemison participated in African American Lives, a PBS television miniseries hosted by Henry
Louis Gates Jr., that traces the family history of eight famous African Americans using historical
research and genetic techniques.[66] Jemison found to her surprise that she is 13% East Asian in her
genetic makeup.[66] She also learned that some of her paternal ancestors were slaves at a plantation
in Talladega County, Alabama.[67]

Jemison participated in the Red Dress Heart Truth fashion show, wearing Lyn Devon, during the
2007 New York Fashion Week to help raise money to fight heart disease.[68] In May of the same year,
she was the graduation commencement speaker and only the 11th person in the 52-year history
of Harvey Mudd College to be awarded an honorary D.Eng. degree.[69]

On February 17, 2008, Jemison was the featured speaker for the 100th anniversary of the founding
of the Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first sorority established by African-American college women. Jemison
paid tribute to Alpha Kappa Alpha by carrying the sorority's banner with her on her shuttle flight. Her
space suit is a part of the sorority's national traveling Centennial Exhibit. Jemison is an honorary
member of Alpha Kappa Alpha.[70]

Jemison participated with First Lady Michelle Obama in a forum for promising girls in
the Washington, D.C. public schools in March 2009.[71]

In 2014, Jemison also appeared at Wayne State University for their annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Tribute Luncheon.[72] In 2016, she partnered with Bayer Corporation to promote and advance science
literacy in schools, emphasizing hands-on experimentation.[73]

She took part in the Michigan State University's lecture series, "Slavery to Freedom: An American
Odyssey", in February 2017.[74] In May 2017, Jemison gave the commencement speech at Rice
University.[75] She discussed the 100 Year Plan, science and education and other topics at Western
Michigan University also in May 2017.[76]
In 2017, LEGO released the "Women of NASA" set, with minifigures of Jemison, Margaret
Hamilton, Sally Ride, and Nancy Grace Roman.[77][78] The Google Doodle on March 8, 2019
(International Women's Day) featured a quote from Jemison: "Never be limited by other people's
limited imaginations."[79]

Personal life

Jemison built a dance studio in her home and has choreographed and produced several shows of
modern jazz and African dance.[4][20][80]

In the spring of 1996, Jemison filed a complaint against a Texas police officer, accusing him of police
brutality during a traffic stop that ended in her arrest. She was pulled over by Nassau Bay police
officer Henry Hughes for allegedly making an illegal U-turn and arrested after Hughes learned of an
outstanding warrant on Jemison for a speeding ticket.[81] In the process of arresting her, the officer
twisted her wrist and forced her to the ground, as well as having her walk barefooted from the patrol
car into the police station.[81][82] In her complaint, Jemison said the officer physically and emotionally
mistreated her.[83] Jemison's attorney said she believed she had already paid the speeding ticket years
ago.[81] She spent several hours in jail and was treated at an area hospital after release for deep
bruises and a head injury.[84] The Nassau Bay officer was suspended with pay pending an
investigation,[85] but the police investigation cleared him of wrongdoing.[82] She filed a lawsuit against
the city of Nassau Bay and the officer.[84]

Honors and awards

Jemison on 1996 Azeri postage stamp

 1988 Essence Science and Technology Award[86]

 1990 Gamma Sigma Sigma Woman of the Year[87]

 1991 McCall's 10 Outstanding Women for the 90s[88]

 1992 Johnson Publications Black Achievement Trailblazers Award[88]

 1992 Ebony Black Achievement Award[11][86]

 1993 National Women's Hall of Fame[86]

 1993 Ebony magazine 50 Most Influential women[88]

 1993 Kilby Science Award[86]

 1993 Montgomery Fellow, Dartmouth College[89]

 1993 People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World"[90]

 1993 Turner Trumpet Award[88]

 2002 listed among the 100 Greatest African Americans according to Molefi Kete Asante[91]

 2002 Texas Women's Hall of Fame inductee[92]

 2003 Intrepid Award by the National Organization for Girls[93]

 2004 International Space Hall of Fame[94][95]

 2005 The National Audubon Society, Rachel Carson Award[96]

  2017 Buzz Aldrin Space Pioneer Award[97]

 2019 Florida Southern College Honorary Chancellor[98]

 2021 Sylvanus Thayer Award from the United States Military Academy[99]

Institutions

 1992 Mae C. Jemison Science and Space Museum, Wilbur Wright College, Chicago, Illinois[86]

 1992 Mae C. Jemison Academy, an alternative public school in Detroit, Michigan[30][86]

 2001 Mae Jemison School, an elementary public school in Hazel Crest, Illinois[100]

 2007 Bluford Drew Jemison STEM Academy, a public charter school in Baltimore,
Maryland[101] (closed in 2013)[102]

 2010 Bluford Drew Jemison STEM Academy West, a Middle/High School in Baltimore,
Maryland

 2013 Jemison High School, Huntsville, Alabama[103]

Honorary doctorates

 1991 Doctor of Letters, Winston-Salem College, North Carolina[27]

 1991 Doctor of Science, Lincoln College, Pennsylvania[27]

 2000 Doctor of Humanities, Princeton University[104]

 2005 Doctor of Science, Wilson College, North Carolina[105]

 2006 Doctor of Science, Dartmouth College[106]

 2007 Doctor of Engineering, Harvey Mudd College[69]

 2007 Doctor of Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute[107]

 2008 Doctor of Humanities, DePaul University[108][109]

 2009 Doctor of Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of NYU[110]

 2019 Doctor of Humane Letters, Florida Southern College[98]

 2019 Doctor of Humane Letters, University of Arizona[111]

 2020 Doctor Honoris Causa, KU Leuven[112]

 2022 Doctor of Science, Washington University in St. Louis[113]

 2022 Doctor of Science, Clarkson University[114]

 2023 Doctor of Engineering, University College Dublin[115]

Filmography

 Star Trek: The Next Generation (1993) – Lieutenant Palmer, episode "Second Chances"[59]

 Susan B. Anthony Slept Here (1995) – herself[116]

 Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond (1996) – herself[117]

  The New Explorers (1998) – episode "Endeavor"[118]

 How William Shatner Changed the World (2005) – herself[119]

 African American Lives (2006) – herself[120]

 No Gravity (2011) – herself[121]

 The Real (2016) – herself[122]

 Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2023) – Skipster (voice), episode "Skip Ad...olescense"[123]

Publications

 Jemison, Mae (2001). Find where the wind goes: moments from my life. New York:
Scholastic. ISBN 978-0-439-13196-4. OCLC 44548911.

 Jemison, Mae (2001). S.E.E.ing the Future: Science, Engineering and Education (PDF).
Hanover, NH: Dartmouth College. p. 56. ERIC ED464816.

 She contributed the piece "Outer Space: The Worldly Frontier" to the 2003
anthology Sisterhood Is Forever: The Women's Anthology for a New Millennium, edited
by Robin Morgan.[124]

 Jemison, Mae; Rau, Dana Meachen (2013). Journey Through Our Solar System (True Books:
Dr. Mae Jemison and 100 Year Starship). Scholastic. ISBN 978-0-531-24061-8.

 Jemison, Mae; Rau, Dana Meachen (2013). Discovering New Planets (True Books: Dr. Mae
Jemison and 100 Year Starship). Scholastic. ISBN 978-0-531-24063-2.

 Jemison, Mae; Rau, Dana Meachen (2013). Exploring Our Sun (True Books: Dr. Mae Jemison
and 100 Year Starship). Scholastic. ISBN 978-0-531-24062-5.

 Jemison, Mae; Rau, Dana Meachen (2013). The 100 Year Starship (True Books: Dr. Mae
Jemison and 100 Year Starship). Scholastic. ISBN 978-0-531-24060-1.