This obituary appeared in the Washington Post, Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Ruth Patrick, whose studies of freshwater ecology in the 1930s helped galvanize the later environmental movement and whose success in a profession dominated by men charted a course for other female scientists, died Sept. 23 at a retirement community in Lafayette Hill, Pa. She was 105.
The Academy of Natural Sciences, a museum and research institution in Philadelphia now affiliated with Drexel University, announced the death but did not disclose the cause. She was associated with academy for nearly 80 years while also teaching science classes for more than three decades at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Patrick, who in 1996 received the nation’s highest award for scientific achievement, began focusing on ecology at a time when the dangers of pollution barely pierced the national consciousness. Women were so rare in the sciences that when she sought a job at the Academy of Natural Sciences in 1934 — the same year she received a doctorate in botany from the University of Virginia — she was told she would not be paid. She was also advised not to wear lipstick to work.
It was about seven years before she earned a salary years at the academy. She became, in 1973, the first female chair of the academy’s board of trustees. “My great aim,” Dr. Patrick once told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “has been to be able to diagnose the presence of pollution and develop means of cleaning things up.” Her research on limnology — the study of freshwater rivers and lakes — meant wading into an estimated 850 rivers and streams worldwide. Her work drew scientific and political attention to the problem of water pollution, and she later became one of the early scientists to speak out about global warming. “She’s one of the few early women in limnology, and so she was a great role model — really a pioneer, when most universities didn’t even have female professors in the sciences,” said Deborah Bronk, the past president of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, which awards a prize named in Dr. Patrick’s honor. “She was also a real pioneer in using research findings and advocating for public change” in environmental causes.
Dr. Patrick’s work led Congress to pass the 1972 Clean Water Act,which she helped write. Groundbreaking in its time, it remains the chief federal law focused on reducing and preventing water pollution. She advised Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Ronald Reagan on environmental issues. Her chief contribution was identifying the significance of the diatom, now a key measure of water pollution. In the 1930s, when she was completing her doctoral research, Dr. Patrick was the first scientist to focus on this single-celled organism, eaten by other underwater creatures, that is present in almost every
freshwater environment. Earlier scientists had simply measured chemical levels to describe the health of bodies of water. Dr. Patrick found that measuring the presence of the diatom, a simple and prevalent life form — and using a tool she invented called a diatometer — gave a much better picture of the health of the ecosystem’s life forms. The belief that biodiversity is the chief indicator of water health is now known as the Patrick Principle.
Ruth Patrick, whose studies of freshwater ecology in the 1930s helped galvanize the later environmental movement and whose success in a profession dominated by men charted a course for other female scientists, died Sept. 23 at a retirement community in Lafayette Hill, Pa. She was 105.
The Academy of Natural Sciences, a museum and research institution in Philadelphia now affiliated with Drexel University, announced the death but did not disclose the cause. She was associated with academy for nearly 80 years while also teaching science classes for more than three decades at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Patrick, who in 1996 received the nation’s highest award for scientific achievement, began focusing on ecology at a time when the dangers of pollution barely pierced the national consciousness. Women were so rare in the sciences that when she sought a job at the Academy of Natural Sciences in 1934 — the same year she received a doctorate in botany from the University of Virginia — she was told she would not be paid. She was also advised not to wear lipstick to work.
It was about seven years before she earned a salary years at the academy. She became, in 1973, the first female chair of the academy’s board of trustees. “My great aim,” Dr. Patrick once told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “has been to be able to diagnose the presence of pollution and develop means of cleaning things up.” Her research on limnology — the study of freshwater rivers and lakes — meant wading into an estimated 850 rivers and streams worldwide. Her work drew scientific and political attention to the problem of water pollution, and she later became one of the early scientists to speak out about global warming. “She’s one of the few early women in limnology, and so she was a great role model — really a pioneer, when most universities didn’t even have female professors in the sciences,” said Deborah Bronk, the past president of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, which awards a prize named in Dr. Patrick’s honor. “She was also a real pioneer in using research findings and advocating for public change” in environmental causes.
Dr. Patrick’s work led Congress to pass the 1972 Clean Water Act,which she helped write. Groundbreaking in its time, it remains the chief federal law focused on reducing and preventing water pollution. She advised Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Ronald Reagan on environmental issues. Her chief contribution was identifying the significance of the diatom, now a key measure of water pollution. In the 1930s, when she was completing her doctoral research, Dr. Patrick was the first scientist to focus on this single-celled organism, eaten by other underwater creatures, that is present in almost every
freshwater environment. Earlier scientists had simply measured chemical levels to describe the health of bodies of water. Dr. Patrick found that measuring the presence of the diatom, a simple and prevalent life form — and using a tool she invented called a diatometer — gave a much better picture of the health of the ecosystem’s life forms. The belief that biodiversity is the chief indicator of water health is now known as the Patrick Principle.
No comments:
Post a Comment