On an Empowering Path

I grew up in Beverly Cover, MA and from early childhood had a voracious appetite for reading. Living very close to the ocean, during the summer I would spend a lot of time at the beach because the ocean was a fascination to me. Other scientific influences were less direct. For instance, one sister married a physicist and he, with his friends, would meet at our house. It was inspiring to meet those scientists and to think about becoming a scientist myself. In the sixth grade a rather lengthy, all day examination was scheduled and a few weeks after taking that test, the school principal called me into her office, closed the door, and I thought I was in deep trouble. She spoke with a very serious tone of voice, shook her finger at me saying, “You must go to college. Your grade on the exam was the highest ever for this school.” I said, “Yes, I will,” relieved to know that I wasn't going to be scolded for misbehavior!

In high school, science seemed a very empowering path to take. I was accepted by Radcliffe College, the women's counterpart to Harvard University in those days, but now incorporated into Harvard. I was awarded a scholarship, but only for half of the tuition. I simply did not have the other half of the tuition. My sister, who was at Purdue University teaching art at the time, suggested I apply there, which I did, receiving full scholarship funding. Purdue offered a fine education, mostly engineering and very strong in science. Thus I ended up being well educated in the sciences. Purdue in those years made a major effort to bring the arts and humanities to all students. This made it possible to take courses in creative writing, poetry, and literature. My interests turned to the health professions, so I applied to medical school and was accepted. I was set to go when I met a handsome graduate student in March of my senior year. I confess we decided to get married on our first date, and we recently celebrated our fiftieth wedding anniversary. We have two wonderful daughters who are both scientists, one a medical doctor and the other an evolutionary biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.

After receiving our master's degrees at Purdue, my husband and I both enrolled in Ph.D. programs at the University of Washington; myself in microbiology and my husband in physical chemistry. My professor, John Liston, was a newly appointed Professor in the marine sciences from Scotland. Classes were in the medical school and my Ph.D. thesis was on marine bacteria, with my degree awarded from the School of Oceanography. As fate would have it, I became a cholera expert, working in medicine and public health. In July, 2007, a call came from the Science Advisor to the President of the U.S. that I was to receive the National Medal of Science for my work on marine bacteria, notably Vibrio cholerae, which my research had proven to be a marine bacterium.

After obtaining our doctoral degrees, my husband and I applied for and both were awarded Canadian National Research Council (CNRC) postdoctoral fellowships. Because of nepotism rules, my fellowship was revoked. However, Dr. Liston and I applied for a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, which was awarded, and he arranged for me to be appointed Research Assistant Professor with leave of absence to work at the CNRC as a guest scientist with NSF funds to support my research. The 2 years at the CNRC were extremely productive. My husband, having trained as a physicist at the CNRC, was recruited to the National Bureau of Standards. George Chapman, whom I met through a good friend, offered me an appointment as Assistant Professor in his new graduate department at Georgetown University, which I gladly accepted. By 1972, my lab had grown to include more than 15 students and postdoctoral fellows, with extensive grant support. The graduate department at Georgetown University was relatively small and the lab was crowded. I called a very good friend at the University of Maryland, Dr. Michael Pelczar, who said, “We've just had a retirement in the Department and we're recruiting a micro-biologist.” I moved to the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1973.

With Dr. Pelczar, I founded the Sea Grant College at the University of Maryland, College Park, and served as Director. I was recruited several years later by Dr. John Toll, University System President, to serve as Vice President for Academic Affairs. Dr. Toll and I founded the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (UMBI). I was appointed President of UMBI and served until 1998 when a call came from Vice President Gore, informing me that I had been selected to serve as Director of the NSF. I accepted the appointment and I served the 6-year term, 2 years under President Clinton and four under President Bush. After completing the 6-year appointment as NSF Director, I returned to the University of Maryland, College Park, as Distinguished University Professor and also at Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health.

I have no plans to retire because I really enjoy my work. I'm very fortunate in that I have a wonderful husband who is very supportive. He's a physicist by profession and a sailor by avocation. In addition to being racing sailors, we both enjoy theater, art, and classical music.

My Scottish professor, when our work was criticized by conservative colleagues who didn't understand our research, said, “Pay no bloody attention, just get on with the work.” I translate that to saying if you believe in what you do, and there are obstacles, find a way around those obstacles and fulfill your dream. My advice, especially to women, is that it's still hard out there in the real world but don't give up and don't let chauvinism of any sort deter you from the dream you wish to pursue. Just find a way to fulfill that dream. One reason I continue to strongly support women and minorities in science and engineering is because it's a wonderful life and it's a very empowering profession.