Mae Jemison's studies in science didn't make her want to change the world, Jemison told her audience. Rather, "science is a means of organizing information and seeking answers. Science helps us figure out a way to ask the questions."



Mae Jemison's studies in science didn't make her want to change the world, Jemison told her audience. Rather, "science is a means of organizing information and seeking answers. Science helps us figure out a way to ask the questions."

Cornell alumnae group's conference spotlights women in life sciences

By Linda Grace-Kobas

"Science is a way to poke and pry," said former space shuttle astronaut and 1981 Cornell Medical College alumna Dr. Mae Jemison to Cornell women students and members of the President's Council of Cornell Women (PCCW) at a networking luncheon during the alumnae group's annual spring conference on campus, March 6-9.

PCCW hosted the luncheon and subsequent small-group sessions to offer students the opportunity to meet with women in a wide range of professional fields to discuss career issues and opportunities. About 150 students attended the networking events, co-sponsored by Cornell Career Services and held in the Statler Hotel ballroom March 8. The theme of the conference was "Women in Life Sciences."

Her studies in science didn't make her want to change the world, Jemison told her audience. Rather, "science is a means of organizing information and seeking answers. Science helps us figure out a way to ask the questions."

The first African-American woman to fly in space, on the shuttle Endeavor in 1992, Jemison urged the students to "hang out with" many different kinds of people and to examine issues from many perspectives.

Jemison said that since the space shuttle Columbia disaster, she has been asked whether space exploration is worth the risk of human life. She said people have even asked why she would risk her own life for exploration, unlike a soldier who may sacrifice his or her life for the homeland. She retorted that in the service of knowledge, an astronaut, a microbiologist studying ebola, a physician treating AIDS patients, a volcanologist monitoring a volcano, all risk their lives for "a more noble cause," which is human advancement.

During the question-and-answer period, Jemison noted that "too often" women in career or tenure tracks are given extra responsibilities for programs in diversity, education and outreach that place an extra burden on them. She said such responsibilities should be borne by those in senior positions.

Sara Lozyniak, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she found Jemison to be "not only entertaining but inspirational" and said she appreciated the opportunity to meet faculty and alumnae at the PCCW conference.

When this story was posted in November 2004, this was on the front page of PCOL:

Your vote makes a difference Make a difference on November 2 - Vote. Then take our RPCV exit poll. See how RPCV's are voting and take a look at the RPCV voter demographic. Finally leave a message on why you voted for John Kerry or for George Bush. Previous poll results here.

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