1/ What an honor it was to receive the 1st Mary Sears Medal from @TOSOceanography at #OSM20 & to have a chance to recognize a remarkable scientist & true pioneer. It’s hard to appreciate how challenging her circumstances were, but I can begin to imagine some of the... 
2/ ...barriers she faced because her life was chronologically between my grandmother’s & my mother’s. They, too, were professional women. Their stories, passion, & achievements inspired me. My grandmother was only 18y older than Mary Sears; Mary was 12 yr older than my mom...
3/...All 3 were trailblazers extraordinaire. My grandmother received her MD in 1912. Was the 1st woman admitted to med school in the Carolinas. Getting there was not easy. She was repeatedly rejected. #Neverthelessshepersisted Unusual for the time, she sought an appt w the Dean..
4/...He initially refused to see her. After she camped out in his office, he relented.
Portia: Why don’t you admit women?
Dean: We just don’t.
P: That’s not a reason.
D: Well, what am I to do with you when you faint in the operating room?
P: What do you do w the men who faint?
Portia: Why don’t you admit women?
Dean: We just don’t.
P: That’s not a reason.
D: Well, what am I to do with you when you faint in the operating room?
P: What do you do w the men who faint?
5/ P: I don’t expect to faint, but if I do, plz just make a separate pile for me!
Their interview continued in this fashion. Some combination of her humor, persistence, intelligence & drive must have done the trick, for she was admitted. Once she graduated, the Dean became...
Their interview continued in this fashion. Some combination of her humor, persistence, intelligence & drive must have done the trick, for she was admitted. Once she graduated, the Dean became...
6/ ...her biggest fan & mentor, even giving her his favorite horse (Maude) & buggy so she could conduct her medical practice in rural SoCarolina after he graduated to one of the 1st automobiles in the state.
I’ve not heard Mary Sears’ stories, but I can imagine her facing...
I’ve not heard Mary Sears’ stories, but I can imagine her facing...
7/ ...similar challenges. The fact that Mary Sears succeeded in oceanography despite being barred from research cruises (the ships lacked ‘proper facilities’) speaks volumes abt her desire & ability to blaze new trails when traditional ones were blocked.
8/ I suspect that like my mother & grandmother, Mary Sears’ love of science, curiosity, & devotion to community fed her soul & fueled her ability to overcome difficulties.
We are all beneficiaries of Mary’s science, her editing, her skills in community building, her integrity
We are all beneficiaries of Mary’s science, her editing, her skills in community building, her integrity
9/ & her service to the nation at a time when it needed her knowledge & creativity, her ability to crystallize a problem & solve it, & her skills in building & leading a team. How fitting is it that Roger Revelle called her ‘the conscience of oceanography’?
10/ Mary Sears embodied the idea of science serving society. How wonderful it is that @TOSOceanography has chosen to honor & remember her w this award? To Mary: our conscience, our pioneer, & our Wonder Woman of Oceanography!
Join me tomorrow at 10:30a for the #OSM20 Award Plenary, including the inaugural Mary Sears Medal Lecture where I’ll ask: ‘ What would Mary do?’ @TOSOceanography
