CELEBRATING WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

To celebrate International Women’s Day and to kick off Women’s History Month, Concrete Loop is showcasing fearless and honorable women that have outstanding accomplishments in their chosen professions ranging from astronauts to authors. Kicking off Women’s History Month are two women that had truly out of this world achievements in the field of science and space.

Born on October 17, 1956 in Alabama, Mae C.Jemison was the youngest of three children and changed the course of history for women around the globe and beyond. After graduating from Morgan Park High School in Chicago, Illinois she went on to attend Stanford University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering, and an A.B. in African and Afro-American studies. Following her time at Stanford she went on to complete her medical doctorate at Cornell University in 1981. As a volunteer doctor in a Cambodian refuge camp and a medical officer in the West African Peace Corps it wasn’t until she was hand selected to start astronaut training that Dr. Jemison went on to become The first African American woman in space for an 8-day mission that was accomplished in 127 orbits of the Earth with groundbreaking experiments. Dr. Mae C. Jemison is fluent in Russian, Japanese and Swahili and is also a trained dancer and skilled in choreography. After leaving NASA in 1993 she went on to form The Jemison Group, Inc., a technology design and consulting company focusing on improving health standards practices in Africa and all over the world.

Ellen Ochoa was born on May 10, 1958 in Los Angeles and went on to receive her bachelor of science degree in physics from San Diego State University, a master of science degree and doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University.Dr. Ochoa went on to become a pioneer of spacecraft technology leading to an invention patented in 1987 that was designed to detect imperfections in repeating patterns, forever changing the face of scientific technology. In 1991 Dr. Ochoa first left Earth to become the world’s first Hispanic female astronaut that has logged over 719 hours in space. Now the married mother of two is the Deputy Director of the Johnson Space Center and is also a classical flutist.