Mary Alice McWhinnie

Mary Alice McWhinnie (August 10, 1922 – March 17, 1980) was an American biologist, professor at DePaul University and an authority on krill. From Chicago, Illinois, she was the first woman to sail for two months in Antarctic waters aboard the NSF's research vessel, USNS Eltanin. The National Science Foundation eventually allowed her to winter over at McMurdo Station and in 1974, she became the first American woman to serve as chief scientist at an Antarctic research station.

Education and early career Mary Alice McWhinnie received her bachelor's and master's degrees in biology from DePaul University in 1944 and 1946. She began teaching at DePaul University in 1946 in the Department of Biological Sciences as a Graduate Assistant and was its chairman from 1966 to 1968.

Scientific career In 1962, she and her research assistant, Phyllis Marciniack, were selected by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to sail for two months on the USNS Eltanin (Cruise 6, 24 November 1962 – 23 January 1963) in the Antarctic. Their plan was to study "the relation of water temperature to the physiology of molting crustaceans," namely, how krills' physiology and how it managed to thrive in such an extreme environment.

In 1972, McWhinnie was appointed the first female chief scientist on the Eltanin. Until 1969, United States' Antarctic programs were all male but in 1974, McWhinnie and her research assistant, Mary Odile Cahoon were the first women scientists to winter-over at McMurdo Station, the largest and most accessible station in Antarctica with 128 men. During the 1975-76 summer season, she was the first female scientist to work at Palmer Station. Her career included eleven trips to the Antarctic, more than fifty published scientific papers, and many presentations of research findings.

She spent the three years before her death in 1980, traveling internationally, lecturing on various aspects of krill and amassing an extensive bibliography. She died from a brain tumor on March 17, 1980.

Legacy Honored with an Antarctic mountain peak, McWhinnie Peak. Mary Alice McWhinnie Marine Science Center at Palmer Station is also named in her honor. She was posthumously awarded DePaul University's highest faculty honor, the Via Sapientiae Award, for her dedication to teaching and scientific accomplishments in June 1980.