Emory Kristoff, © National Geographic Society Geographic © National Emory Kristoff, Tanya Atwater (right) and R/V Knorr shipmate look over mid-ocean ridge rocks. The Women of FAMOUS Remembrance of Times Past Kathryn D. Sullivan President & CEO, Center of Science & Industry (COSI), Columbus, Ohio

visited the research vessel Knorr during a Woods Hole commonplace in the early 1970s. Knorr’s scientific rosters port call in May 1997, twenty-three years almost to the show that 38 people sailed as members of the scientific I day since Paul Johnson (now at the University of Wash- parties during the various FAMOUS voyages. The eight ington) and I had first gone aboard the ship to install women among them probably represent the first significant paleomagnetics equipment that Dalhousie University had female participation at sea in a large oceanographic pro- committed to Project FAMOUS (French-American Mid- gram. We were quite a diverse group. All of us had been to Ocean Undersea Study). Knorr has been stretched since sea before, but our experience level varied from that of se- then, and is no longer propelled by cycloids, but the labs nior technical staff (like Helen Hays and Rosamund Corr) to and passageways were still familiar enough to bring back very junior graduate students (Margaret Leinen, Pat vivid memories. McGraw, and Kathy Sullivan). Our jobs included surveying, My FAMOUS story begins during my first year in graduate coring and dredging, data and sample logging, subsampling, school at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. I was develop- and initial analysis. I’m sure we all dreamt of diving in Alvin, ing a thesis proposal to study the but that was not to be. None of us geochemistry of a deep drill core (1974) had been in on the front end cruise that had been recovered from a The FAMOUS Women planning and proposals, for one volcano on the island of Sao Miguel Susan H. Anderson, Administrative Coordinator, thing. But, even if we had been, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the Azores. Fab Aumento, my belief at the time was that women Margaret Leinen, Graduate Student, supervisor, knew that I needed to do Oregon State University could not be supported aboard Lulu, some fieldwork to verify the project’s Rosamund F. Corr, Research Associate, Alvin’s catamaran tender, ostensibly feasibility, and that I loved to work at Harvard University because of a lack of facilities. “Lack sea. So he suggested that I be one of Patricia A. McGraw, Graduate Student, of facilities” was the euphemism the Dalhousie group supporting Dalhousie University commonly used in those days for FAMOUS. Of course, I accepted Helen C. Hays, Senior Research Assistant, “there’s no bathroom devoted to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution immediately! A few weeks later, females” (as if any of our home bath- Tanya M. Atwater, Assistant Professor, Dalhousie Postdoctoral Fellow Paul Massachusetts Institute of Technology rooms were devoted to females). Johnson and I set off for WHOI to Anne L. Holland, Research Assistant, FAMOUS was by no means just install our suite of paleomagnetics Harvard University another cruise. It was a very high gear aboard the ship. Kathryn D. Sullivan, Graduate Student, profile effort, involving the first use Women at sea were by no means Dalhousie University of manned submersibles for mid-

OCEANUS • 9 ocean ridge research, in the lab the day we made port and informed me that I was substantial interna- to serve hors d’oeuvres during the VIP reception. Needless to tional collaboration, and say, I didn’t take too kindly to this suggestion. Mustering major national media what few shreds of civility I could, I tersely told her that I interest. (At the time, planned to be representing my university in the laboratory, I considered the term and other waitresses would have to be found. WHOI scientist “manned” to encompass Bill Bryan came to my aid, peeling me off the ceiling and all human beings—now deflecting any further requests for members of the scientific the phrase we use is party to be cross-assigned into the mess division. “human occupied.”) All On my four previous cruises I had felt well accepted as a these factors combined member—albeit a junior one—of the scientific party. The to create considerable FAMOUS experience brought valuable early lessons, happily pressure to succeed through minor and silly incidents, about how gender and both on Woods Hole as seniority are sometimes played against an individual. an institution and on Though I didn’t like it at the time, the experience toughened the cruise leaders indi- me up and made me think about how to handle such situa- vidually. It’s clear in tions in the future. hindsight that these When asked to write this piece, I got in touch with several factors had some major FAMOUS shipmates, male and female, and collected a won- effects on shipboard derful array of memories and anecdotes from several of them.

Emory Kristoff, © National Geographic Society Geographic © National Emory Kristoff, policies and individual The pressures, difficulties, personal challenges now all sit in a Rosamund Corr analyzed near-bottom behavior, though I, for broader perspective for all of us, and we are glad we got to be water and sediment samples for Dick one, really didn’t recog- a part of such a pivotal expedition. At least one of the Holland of Harvard University aboard nize this at the time and FAMOUS women has passed on (Helen Hays), and I’ve lost R/V Knorr during Project FAMOUS. attributed some events track of a few. Tanya Atwater left MIT some years later and is to people being very heavy-handed about rank or adverse to now professor of geological sciences at the University of having women aboard. For example, Margaret Leinen and I California, Santa Barbara. Margaret Leinen finished her were once enlisted to haul crates of dive samples into a lab master’s degree at Oregon State and went on to a Ph.D. at the and, of course, took advantage of the moment to pick up one University of Rhode Island (URI). She joined the URI faculty or two of them for a look. When one of the senior diving and is now the Vice Provost for Marine Programs and Dean scientists found us at this, we got seriously chewed out. This of the Graduate School of Oceanography. seemed to me like a great overreaction, and one that would As for me, I finished my Ph.D. at Dalhousie and went into never have happened to a male mem- the space program, thinking I was ber of the scientific party. I’ve since giving up my dreams of diving in Alvin learned that there was an explicit for the chance to fly in space. I was cruise policy (which was not explained pleased to find that “facilities” were to us when we came aboard) that not a problem in anybody’s mind samples were never to be handled until aboard space shuttles, despite infi- they were properly tagged and logged nitely more crowded spaces and less in by the curators, and that plenty of privacy. But by some great good for- folks got chewed out for violating it. tune, and to my great delight, I would There were, of course, some times meet Alvin again—22 years after when a gender bias was quite apparent FAMOUS—for a dive on the active during the cruise. Knorr’s bos’n vent fields of the East Pacific Rise. In a wouldn’t allow Leinen to assist with clear triumph of common sense, the the deployment of the coring gear “facilities problem” has evaporated. because women, he said, were a dis- More to my delight, women are now traction on the fantail. He drew a chalk aboard (at least at WHOI) as members line across the deck and told her to of ships’ companies and scientific stay behind it. (Since one of his good parties, as graduate students diving in friends subsequently married Marga- Alvin, and as chief scientists. ret, he is reminded of this frequently!). Society Geographic © National Emory Kristoff, Following a stint as Chief Scientist for the Na- And then there was the VIP in-port Susan Anderson, at right, joins scientists and crew tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, visit near the end of the expedition observing preparation of sampling gear aboard Kathy Sullivan moved to her current position at R/V Knorr in 1974. Susan was Administrative COSI, one of the country’s leading hands-on with many senior officials from both Coordinator for WHOI Geology & Geophysics science centers. She is also a member of the France and the US scheduled to come Department Chair James R. Heirtzler, US Chief WHOI Corporation. aboard. The captain’s wife stopped me Scientist for Project FAMOUS.

10 • Vol. 41, No. 1 • 1998