Women in science we admire
Mary Whitear
Mary Whitear nominated by Chris Carter
Dr Mary Whitear was Reader in Comparative Anatomy in the Zoology Department at UCL (UK). She came to my rescue as a tutor when I was an undergraduate by nurturing my first academic efforts and inspiring my career-long interest in fish biology. She showed me what scholarship was, she was thorough and precise with wide interests and knowledge. I wanted to be a zoology and she had the right type of office too, it was at the top of a narrow staircase and packed full of zoological samples. For many different reasons she was a strong role model, one was as a whole animal zoologist in a department dominated by cell biologists. Dr Whitear remains the most efficient scientist at dispatching a fish I have seen– still a vivid memory.
