Kevin Vranes has a phud in Physical Ocean- ography and Cli- matology. He now studies sci- ence policy and politics at the The news is here. Marie apparently died today at Nyack Hospital.
In brief, Marie Tharp was central to 1940's and 1950's era discoveries of mid-ocean ridges and explanations of plate tectonics. I'll leave the fuller descriptions of Marie's work and the importance of it to the press release I linked above. Note that you'll see the word "pioneering" used over and again to describe Marie and her work. This cannot be understated.
During my intro geology classes at the University of Montana, I always had at least one or two slides on Marie's contributions to the science of plate tectonics. The point was just as much about highlighting women in science (one of my missions was to get more women interested in, and have confidence about learning, science) as it was about plate tectonics.
Hers is a strong story and Ken Kostel's news release is a good start for appreciating what she meant:
Only in recent years has Tharp begun to be recognized for the breadth and significance of her contributions to science. In 1998 she was honored during the 100th anniversary of the Library of Congress' Geography and Map Division. The following year, she was recognized by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. In 2001 she was honored by her home institution with the Lamont-Doherty Heritage Award. Today, a fellowship at Lamont-Doherty to promote women in science through the ADVANCE program bears her name.
Comments
# 1 | Monado | August 23, 2006 7:35 PM
It's good to see you is acknowledging women's contributions to science.
# 2 | Glenn Cooper | December 31, 2006 12:36 PM
Nice post. There is also a very nice video over at the New York Times:
http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=8553e155bef2185ef71a570e2c83a1d38ce8f576&rf=bm