Mary Sears (oceanographer)

Mary Sears
Born	(1905-07-18)July 18, 1905 Wayland, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	September 2, 1997(1997-09-02) (aged 92) Woods Hole, Massachusetts, U.S.
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1943–1963
Rank	Commander
Commands held	Oceanographic Unit of the Navy Hydrographic Office 1943-1946
Awards	Johannes Schmidt medal in 1946 for contributions to marine research and Navy oceanography during WWII.
Other work	co-founding editor of the journal Deep-Sea Research, founding editor of the journal Progress in Oceanography

Mary Sears (July 18, 1905 – September 2, 1997) was a Commander in the United States Naval Reserve and a oceanographer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

Early life and education[]

Born in 1905^[1] and raised in Wayland, Massachusetts, Sears graduated from The Winsor School in Boston, Massachusetts in 1923, and lived with the Beale family in Cambridge, Massachusetts while attending Radcliffe College, from which she received a bachelor's degree in 1927, a master's degree in 1929 and a Ph.D. in zoology in 1933.^[1][2]

Career[]

While a graduate student she worked at Harvard University with Henry Bigelow, a founder and the first Director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She started working as summers in 1932 as a planktonologist, one of the first ten research assistants to be appointed to the staff at the Institution, and was appointed to a year-round position as planktonologist in 1940.^[2] Sears was present for many of the early discussions organizing the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution as it acquired its first ships, the 142-foot ketch Atlantis and 40-foot coastal vessel Asterias, and its first laboratory, later named the Bigelow Laboratory.^[3] During this time she also served as a research assistant at Harvard from 1933 to 1949, as a tutor at Radcliffe from 1934 to 1940, and as an instructor at Wellesley College from 1938 to 1943.^[2]

She was commissioned a Lieutenant Junior Grade in the WAVES, a women's unit of the Navy^[1] in 1943^[4] and called to Washington, D.C., where she organized and headed the new Oceanographic Unit of the Navy Hydrographic Office, working with Roger Revelle and others until June 1946.^[5] Her division prepared oceanographic reports for planning of events in the Pacific, including charts that were drawn on handkerchiefs that were navigation aids carried by soldiers.^[5] By 1944, the Joint Chiefs of Staff expanded Sear's responsibility to include management of over 400 personnel, 100 more than typical for a naval destroyer.^[1] Her unit was charged with aiding the Navy in strategic maneuvers through providing analysis of tides, surf heights, and other oceanic metrics to give the Navy a strategic advantage.^[1]

Revelle, former Director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and first dean of the University of California at San Diego, said in 1980 that "because the Federal Government has very little memory, it is generally forgotten that the first Oceanographer of the Navy in modern times was a short, rather shy and prim WAVE Lieutenant, junior grad ...[The U.S. Navy] underestimated the powerful natural force that is Mary Sears. That tiny oceanographic unit soon became a Division, and finally the entire Hydrographic Office evolved into the Naval Oceanographic Office."^[6]

After the war Mary spent a year in Copenhagen where she worked on siphonophores.^[2][7] She held a Rask-Orsted Foundation grant and received the in 1946 for her many contributions to marine research.^{[citation needed]} In 1947 she returned to Woods Hole, transferring to the Naval Volunteer Reserves where she was the only woman in the Woods Hole unit and was elected officer in charge of the unit in 1950.^[8] She retired as a Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1963.^{[citation needed]}

When Sears return to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, she was named a Senior Scientist in the Biology Department, a position she held until her retirement in 1970.^[9] Sears remained active at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution until late in life, working with Joan Hulburt from an office in Bigelow Laboratory.^[10] From 1962 to 1973 she compiled and edited the Institution's Annual Report and Summary of Investigations. She also compiled the Collected Reprints of the Institution from 1959 to 1975, and compiled the Oceanographic Index, 1971-1976.^[3] She was named a Scientist Emeritus in 1978.^{[citation needed]}

Mary Sears met Olive Byrne and William Moulton Marston while she was in college, and was the inspiration for the fictional character Etta Candy (Wonder Woman's best friend).^[11]

Research[]

In 1941 she went to the Chincha Islands in Peru as a Faculty Fellow for Wellesley College's Committee on Inter-American Cultural and Artistic Relations.^[2] Sears was asked to come to Peru to examine why birds were dying^[12] and while there she surveyed the migration of birds and the plankton community.^[13][12] This research was published in 1954 in Deep Sea Research.^[14] In 1950, she spoke to the Woods Hole Women's club and shared color slides of her time in Peru.^[15]

Sears also conducted work annual fluctuations of marine zooplankton.^[16] With Henry Bigelow, Sears published papers on the salinity^[17] and the zooplankton^[18] of the area from Cape Cod to Chesapeake Bay, and worked on zooplankton further north in the Gulf of Maine.^[19]

Publications[]

Since women were not permitted to go to sea until many years later, Sears made her mark in marine science by editing the journals and books in which oceanographers published their results. In 1953, she was a founding editor of Deep-Sea Research,^[20] serving as editor from 1953 to 1974. She also helped establish Progress in Oceanography and served as its first editor-in-chief.^[21]

Sears edited several books that are considered milestones on documenting the history of marine science. Oceanography, considered by many as the benchmark against which future research was evaluated, was published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1961.^[22] The Science article reviewing the book noted "...[they] know of no other volume that so well defines oceanography, its purpose, opportunities, and requirements".^[23]

Oceanography: The Past^[24] was co-edited with as part of the Third International Congress on the History of Oceanography, held at Woods Hole in September 1980 in celebration of the Institution's fiftieth anniversary. Long-time friend and colleague Roger Revelle described Sears in a paper he presented at that Congress as "the conscience of oceanography who initiated and maintained an uncompromising standard of excellence in scientific publications about the oceans.... She played a major role in creating the present world community of oceanographers from numerous countries and almost as many specialties."

Awards and honors[]

Officials assist Leila Sears, Mary's sister, as she christens the Navy's newest research vessel: USNS Mary Sears. (Photo courtesy of US Navy)

Sears was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1960^[25] and a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1964.^[26]

On the occasion of her 80th birthday in 1985, Deep-Sea Research dedicated an issue to Sears,^[27] noting that she "has probably played a greater role in the advancement of oceanographic studies than any other woman." She received an alumnae honorary degree in 1962 from Mount Holyoke College^[28][13] and an honorary doctorate in 1974 from Southeastern Massachusetts University (now University of Massachusetts Dartmouth). Radcliffe College honored Sears in 1992 with its Alumnae Recognition Award, given to "women whose lives and spirits exemplify the value of a liberal arts education." In 1996 the Falmouth Business and Professional Women's Organization presented its "Woman of the Year" award to Mary for her many professional and community contributions.^[29]

Commander Sears' military awards include the American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Naval Reserve Medal and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal.^{[citation needed]}

In October 2000, the U.S. Navy recognized her service by launching a 300-foot research vessel named in her honor.^[1][30] The Oceanographic Survey Ship USNS Mary Sears is one of seven research vessels in operation today. Sears was also recognized in 1996 at the retirement celebration for Research Vessel Atlantis II^[6] which she had christened as sponsor.^[31]

There are two awards named after Sears. The Oceanography Society presents the Mary Sears Medal in recognition of extraordinary accomplishments in biological oceanography, marine biology, or marine ecology.^[32] In 1994, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution established the Mary Sears Women Pioneers in Oceanography Award^[33]

Professional associations[]

Mary Sears chaired and helped to establish the First International Congress on Oceanography, held at the United Nations in New York in 1959.^{[citation needed]} She also served on the Joint Committee on Oceanography of the International Council of Scientific Unions from 1958 to 1960.^{[citation needed]}

She served as a Trustee of the Marine Biological Laboratory from 1956 to 1962 and was a Trustee Emeritus from 1976 until her death in 1997. She also was a Life Member of the Corporation of the Bermuda Biological Station.

Philanthropic activities[]

Beyond her roles in international marine science, Mary Sears served the community and Town of Falmouth. She was a member of the Falmouth School Committee^[1] from 1952 to 1973, and was elected chair in 1961^[34] a position she served until 1969. She also served on the School Committee for the Upper Cape Cod Regional Vocational technical School District from 1963 to 1965, and as Area 3 Chairman, Third Vice President and a member of the Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees during the 1960s.^{[citation needed]} She served on and was chairman of the committee operating the Children's School of Science in Woods Hole, and for 35 years was a Falmouth Town Meeting Member. She was also active as a member of the Republican Town Committee^[35] and a member of the Falmouth Citizens Committee for Open Spaces^[36]

References[]

Further reading[]

• Williams, Kathleen Broome. Improbable Warriors: Women Scientists and the U.S. Navy in World War II. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 2001, 280 pages. ISBN 978-1-55750-961-1. Williams' book focuses on the lives and contributions of four notable women: Mary Sears (1905–1997); Florence van Straten (1913–1992); Grace Murray Hopper (1906–1992); Mina Spiegel Rees (1902–1997).
• Lepore, Jill. The Secret History Of Wonder Woman. Knopf, 2014. ISBN 9780385354042.

External links[]

• About Mary Sears Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• Mary Sears Woman Pioneer in Oceanography Award
• NAVY TO LAUNCH OCEANOGRAPHIC SURVEY SHIP MARY SEARS (T-AGS 65) US DoD News Release October 18, 2000
• Obituaries
  • Hilchey, Tim (1997-09-10). "Mary Sears, 92, Oceanographic Editor and Scientist at Woods Hole". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  • TIMES, CAPE COD. "Obits September 5, 1997". capecodtimes.com. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
• MARY SEARS (1905-1997) National Women's History Museum biography
• "CHIPS Articles: Women who put GEOINT on the map: Lt. Mary Sears". www.doncio.navy.mil. March 22, 2019. Retrieved 2021-05-06.

This article contains information created by the U.S. Federal Government and is in the public domain.