Patricia Marjorie Ralph (5 April 1920 – 23 March 1995) was a New Zealand marine biologist and university lecturer. She was born in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, New Zealand in 1920. She graduated from

Victoria University College Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in 1941 and a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

two years later. She remained as a demonstrator at Victoria College and became a junior lecturer and then received a tenured position in 1949. Her work in marine biology received worldwide attention and she was awarded a

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

in 1962, the first woman at Victoria to be recognised with that degree. Two species of coral, '' Sphenotrochus ralphae'' and ''

Caryophyllia ralphae ''Caryophyllia'' is a genus of solitary corals in the family Caryophylliidae. Members of this genus are azooxanthellate (do not contain symbiotic algae) and are found in the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea at depths down to . Sub ...

'', were named for her. Ralph died at

Paraparaumu Paraparaumu () is a town in the south-western North Island of New Zealand. It lies on the Kapiti Coast, north of the nation's capital city, Wellington. Like other towns in the area, it has a partner settlement at the coast called Paraparaumu Bea ...

in 1995, and her ashes were buried in Bolton Street Memorial Park, Wellington.

References

1920 births 1995 deaths New Zealand biologists Victoria University of Wellington alumni Victoria University of Wellington faculty Burials at Bolton Street Cemetery 20th-century biologists {{NewZealand-biologist-stub