The recent death of Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut, has brought to light her contributions to the space program and science. Dr Ride has influenced many females to get into the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Today, there is an increased push for the American education system to improve their STEM programs as well as to get students to show interest in the fields. It is important to bring attention to some of the African-American females that have, and are still, paving the road for future scientists, astronauts or any STEM degree holders.
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These women are just some of the many examples of African-American contributions to science.
Nichelle Nichols is not an astronaut, but her role in Star Trek as Lieutenant Uhura inspired many African-American women to become astronauts and astrophysicists including Mae Jemison. One of the first African-American female roles that was not a servant, Nichols used her position of popularity to work with NASA to recruit minorities and female personnel for the space agency. Those recruited include Dr. Sally Ride, the first female American Astronaut, Colonel Guion Bluford, the first African-American in space and many more. A genuine interest in space and the advancement of space Nichols flew aboard NASA’s C-141 Astronomy Observatory, which analyzed the atmospheres of Mars and Saturn on an eight-hour, high-altitude mission.
Jeanette J. Epps PH.D from Syracuse NY is a NASA astronaut. She received her PH.D in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Marylan in 2000. Dr. Epps was selected in 2009 to be one of the 14 members of the 20th NASA astronaut class. She recently graduated from Astronaut Candidate Training.
Joan Higginbotham received a Masters in Space Systems from Florida Institute of Technology and became the third African-American woman to go into space and has actively participated in 53 space launches. Originally from Chicago IL, Higginbotham originally thought that she would be become an electrical engineer and work for IBM. She started working at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and at the urging of one of her bosses applied to join the astronaut corps in 1994. She was not accepted. Higginbotham went on to continue her masters and applied a second time in 1996 “It was hard. I’d been back two years earlier. I’d gotten a master’s degree. I’d pretty much figured that I was done,” said Higginbotham. “I worked essentially night shift so that I could go to school during the day and get my second (master’s) degree. But obviously, it paid off.”
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article courtesy of TheGrio.com
