{"id":3757,"date":"2025-11-04T03:50:36","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T09:50:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/?p=3757"},"modified":"2025-11-04T03:56:59","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T09:56:59","slug":"mary-alice-mcwhinnie-the-first-woman-to-conquer-antarctica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\/eternal-3757-mary-alice-mcwhinnie-the-first-woman-to-conquer-antarctica","title":{"rendered":"Mary Alice McWhinnie: The First Woman to Conquer Antarctica"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>An American marine biologist and Chicago native, she became a pioneer in studying life in Antarctica&#8217;s extreme conditions. She dedicated her life to researching krill, crustaceans, and the processes of adaptation to the cold. Her scientific discoveries changed our understanding of polar sea biology, and her career broke down gender barriers in science. More at <a href=\"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\">chicagoname<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"779\" height=\"1249\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.chicagoname.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/image-36.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3727\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.chicagoname.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/image-36.jpeg 779w, https:\/\/cdn.chicagoname.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/image-36-187x300.jpeg 187w, https:\/\/cdn.chicagoname.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/image-36-768x1231.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.chicagoname.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/image-36-696x1116.jpeg 696w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 779px) 100vw, 779px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3e9f2e56e7c\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3e9f2e56e7c\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\/eternal-3757-mary-alice-mcwhinnie-the-first-woman-to-conquer-antarctica\/#Biography\" >Biography&nbsp;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\/eternal-3757-mary-alice-mcwhinnie-the-first-woman-to-conquer-antarctica\/#Scientific_Expeditions_to_Antarctica\" >Scientific Expeditions to Antarctica<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\/eternal-3757-mary-alice-mcwhinnie-the-first-woman-to-conquer-antarctica\/#Teaching_Career\" >Teaching Career&nbsp;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\/eternal-3757-mary-alice-mcwhinnie-the-first-woman-to-conquer-antarctica\/#Key_Scientific_Discoveries\" >Key Scientific Discoveries<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Biography\"><\/span>Biography&nbsp;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Mary McWhinnie earned her bachelor&#8217;s and master&#8217;s degrees in biology from DePaul University. She began teaching at the same university immediately after graduating\u2014first as a graduate student and teaching assistant in the Department of Biological Sciences. From 1966 to 1968, McWhinnie chaired this department, becoming one of the first women in Chicago to lead a university biology department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1952, she earned her doctorate from Northwestern University, specializing in invertebrate physiology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Scientific_Expeditions_to_Antarctica\"><\/span>Scientific Expeditions to Antarctica<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A true scientific breakthrough in her career came in 1962 when the National Science Foundation (NSF) invited McWhinnie and her assistant, Phyllis Marciniak, to join an Antarctic expedition aboard the USNS Eltanin. Their goal was to study how water temperature affects the physiology of krill (Euphausiacea) and to understand how these tiny crustaceans could survive in extremely cold conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mary completed four expeditions on the \u201cEltanin\u201d\u2014in 1965, 1967, 1969, and 1970. She became the first female scientist ever to work in Antarctic waters. In 1972, she became the first woman to serve as chief scientist for an expedition on this vessel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Until 1969, U.S. Antarctic programs remained all-male. That changed in 1974 when Mary McWhinnie and her colleague, Mary Odile Cahoon, became the first <a href=\"https:\/\/edinburghname.com\/en\/eternal-2730-elspeth-a-woman-born-to-volunteer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">women<\/a> to winter over at McMurdo Station, alongside 128 men. Later, during the 1975\u20131976 season, McWhinnie became the first female scientist to work at Palmer Station. In total, over her career, she made eleven expeditions to Antarctica, published more than fifty scientific papers, and gave dozens of lectures worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Teaching_Career\"><\/span>Teaching Career&nbsp;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>McWhinnie worked at DePaul University for many years, where she not only taught but also actively developed the institution&#8217;s research capabilities. In the 1960s, she became one of the few women to chair a natural sciences department in the United States. Her leadership helped expand doctoral programs, attract grants, and open up opportunities for young female researchers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During her time as chair of the biology department, most departments at DePaul were still led by men. McWhinnie&#8217;s role, therefore, had not just a scientific but also a symbolic dimension: she was opening doors into science for other women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The DePaul University Archives holds the \u201cMary Alice McWhinnie Papers\u201d\u2014a collection of the researcher&#8217;s letters, photographs, scientific papers, and diaries. Her student, Dennis Shenborn, who was a member of the 1974 Antarctic team, also donated his own collection of materials to the university, documenting the life and work of scientists in the harsh conditions of the Southern Continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"848\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.chicagoname.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/image-38.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3733\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.chicagoname.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/image-38.jpeg 848w, https:\/\/cdn.chicagoname.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/image-38-300x215.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.chicagoname.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/image-38-768x551.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.chicagoname.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/image-38-696x499.jpeg 696w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 848px) 100vw, 848px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key_Scientific_Discoveries\"><\/span>Key Scientific Discoveries<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>From 1977\u20131979, McWhinnie successfully kept Antarctic krill alive in a flowing seawater tank for the first time. She discovered a phenomenon she called &#8220;regression&#8221;: after spawning, the krill shrink in size and lose their sexual maturity. The scientist attributed this to a lack of food and the need for constant movement during the winter. She published over fifty scientific papers and repeatedly presented her research at conferences and scientific meetings, sharing knowledge about krill physiology and behavior with the international scientific community. Her research covered krill physiology, distribution, feeding habits, and <a href=\"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\/eternal-2093-chicagos-environment-in-the-21st-century\">ecological role<\/a> in marine ecosystems. These discoveries are of immense importance for modern research on climate change and ocean pollution, as they help explain how external factors affect marine food sources and food chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>McWhinnie also did extensive work on the hormone crustecdysone, which affects molting in crayfish and hermit crabs. She found that in the period before molting, the level of organic substances in their tissues decreases, while the concentration of amino acids increases\u2014a process necessary for growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the Antarctic winter, the scientist studied the respiratory processes of copepods (R. gigas)\u2014microscopic marine crustaceans. She determined that their metabolism is adapted to low temperatures and an oxygen-poor environment, allowing them to have two reproductive periods per year\u2014a unique phenomenon for such organisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the last three years of her life, Mary McWhinnie traveled the world extensively, giving lectures on Antarctic ecology and continuing her research on marine fauna. She died on March 17, 1980. McWhinnie Peak in Antarctica and the Mary Alice McWhinnie Marine Science Center at Palmer Station are named in her honor. In June 1980, DePaul posthumously honored her with the university&#8217;s highest award, the Via Sapientiae Award, for her outstanding scientific achievements and dedication to teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mary Alice McWhinnie became a symbol of courage, perseverance, and scientific bravery. She not only opened new horizons in the study of ocean life but also opened doors for women in science. Her story is proof that a true calling is not afraid of the cold, the wind, or the loneliness of the ice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1108\" height=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.chicagoname.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/image-39.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3736\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.chicagoname.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/image-39.jpeg 1108w, https:\/\/cdn.chicagoname.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/image-39-208x300.jpeg 208w, https:\/\/cdn.chicagoname.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/image-39-768x1109.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.chicagoname.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/image-39-1064x1536.jpeg 1064w, https:\/\/cdn.chicagoname.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/image-39-696x1005.jpeg 696w, https:\/\/cdn.chicagoname.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2025\/11\/image-39-1068x1542.jpeg 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1108px) 100vw, 1108px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An American marine biologist and Chicago native, she became a pioneer in studying life in Antarctica&#8217;s extreme conditions. She dedicated her life to researching krill, crustaceans, and the processes of adaptation to the cold. Her scientific discoveries changed our understanding of polar sea biology, and her career broke down gender barriers in science. More at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":457,"featured_media":3740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[331],"tags":[2949,2951,2938,2944,2945,2947,2939,2943,2942,2941,2940,2953,2937,2954,2950,2946,2934,2948,2952],"moimportance":[30,33],"motype":[325],"moformat":[18],"class_list":{"0":"post-3757","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-1960s-expeditions","9":"tag-american-scientists","10":"tag-antarctic-expeditions","11":"tag-antarctic-krill","12":"tag-antarctic-research","13":"tag-cold-adaptation","14":"tag-first-woman-in-antarctica","15":"tag-invertebrate-physiology","16":"tag-krill-research","17":"tag-marine-biology","18":"tag-mary-alice-mcwhinnie","19":"tag-mary-alice-mcwhinnie-marine-science-center-2","20":"tag-mcmurdo-station","21":"tag-mcwhinnie-peak-3","22":"tag-palmer-station","23":"tag-pioneering-female-scientist","24":"tag-usns-eltanin-2","25":"tag-women-in-science","26":"tag-womens-contribution-to-science","27":"moimportance-golovna-novyna","28":"moimportance-retranslyacziya-v-agregatory","29":"motype-eternal","30":"moformat-vlasna"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3757"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3758,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3757\/revisions\/3758"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3757"},{"taxonomy":"moimportance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moimportance?post=3757"},{"taxonomy":"motype","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/motype?post=3757"},{"taxonomy":"moformat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoname.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moformat?post=3757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}