UNITED STATES : Dr Mae C Jemison was born in 1956 in Decatur, Alabama. She received a Bachelor in Chemical Engineering (and completed the requirements for a Bachelor in African and Afro-American studies) at Stanford University in 1977, and also received a Doctorate degree in medicine from Cornell University. After medical school she did post-graduate medical training and worked as an area Peace Corps medical officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia, managing the health care delivery system for US Peace Corps and US Embassy personnel. Jemison's background includes work in the areas of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and reproductive biology. She also developed and participated in research projects on the Hepatitis B vaccine and rabies. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)
