Dissertation Research: Dixy Lee Ray: Marine Biologist and Public Scientist

Oregon State University, Corvallis OR

Investigators

Abstract

This is a Science and Technology Studies dissertation improvement grant. The research will examine the scientific career of Dixy Lee Ray, a marine biologist and oceanographer working at the University of Washington from the late 1940s through 1971. Funds from the grant will support expenses related to travel. The researcher's study of Ray's life will address three related areas of interest to historians, sociologists, and scientists: disciplinary developments within oceanography and marine biology, innovative efforts in public science during the Cold War, and the changing role and status of women in science during the latter half of the twentieth century. Ray is an interesting study because she was an effective proponent of biological oceanography in the United States and shaped the disciplinary make-up of oceanography during those decades. At the same time she became a leader in popular science education as director of the Pacific Science Center and through the novel use of television to communicate science to children. Ray's activity within the administration of oceanography and within science popularization illustrates the congruence of the marine sciences with public efforts to educate society about the natural world. As a female scientist Ray's experiences were interwoven in her work as an oceanographer and public scientist, affecting her career choices and her public persona. Issues of women in science will provide another category of analysis for this dissertation. A critical analysis of Ray's scientific career can help to illuminate some of these important issues. And, by drawing upon literatures from three distinct areas within the history and sociology of science, this study may help further knowledge of the scientific enterprise as a whole. In addition, women engaged in the scientific enterprise or those broadly interested in women's professional advancement may find this study of great value as an example of one woman's experience in a profession gradually opening to female leadership.