Mary Odile Cahoon OSB (July 21, 1929 – October 2, 2011) was an American Benedictine

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

who was among the first women to do research in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

. In 1974, Mary Odile Cahoon and

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 ...

became the first women scientists to overwinter at the main American base in Antarctica, McMurdo Station, with 128 men, although the first woman to be there in the winter was in 1947 and other countries had taken women to Antarctica for some years previously.

Education, early life, and career

Mary Odile Cahoon was born in

Houghton Houghton may refer to: Places Australia * Houghton, South Australia, a town near Adelaide * Houghton Highway, the longest bridge in Australia, between Redcliffe and Brisbane in Queensland * Houghton Island (Queensland) Canada *Houghton Township, ...

, Michigan, on July 21, 1929, as the daughter of William Cahoon and Ruth Smothers. At the Houghton High School, she was named valedictorian of the class of 1947. She grew up in upper Michigan, and attended private college at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth. She received her MS degree from

DePaul University DePaul University is a private, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Ca ...

in Chicago where she worked with McWhinnie. Cahoon held a doctoral degree in Biology from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

in Canada (1961) having concentrated her studies in cellular physiology, biochemistry and cytology. She returned to the College of St. Scholastica to teach, and during the summers, Cahoon continued to do biological work at DePaul University, and at

Argonne National Lab Argonne National Laboratory is a science and engineering research national laboratory operated by UChicago Argonne LLC for the United States Department of Energy. The facility is located in Lemont, Illinois, outside of Chicago, and is the larg ...

. She was invited by McWhinnie to be part of a five-person research team, studying adaptation to cold temperatures in invertebrates and fish. They titled their research project, ''Metabolic Studies of Cold Resistance of Invertebrates and Fish in Antarctic Waters''. After this trip, Cahoon was asked to speak about her experiences at public events, though she never returned to Antarctica. At The College of St. Scholastica, Cahoon served as department chair, academic dean, and senior vice president, and trustee.Obituary at the Mayo News
/ref> She also started the College's study abroad program in Ireland. In addition to her college work, Cahoon was the treasurer for the monastic Benedictine community for over 13 years. She died suddenly in Duluth at the St. Scholastica Monastery, at the age of 82 on October 2, 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cahoon, Mary Odile College of St. Scholastica Benedictine nuns American women biologists 1929 births 2011 deaths Women Antarctic scientists 20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns 21st-century American Roman Catholic nuns American Antarctic scientists Biologists from Michigan