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Katharine Kniskern Mather

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Katharine Kniskern Mather
A smiling middle-aged white woman
Katharine Selden Kniskern, from a 1963 publication of the United States federal government
Born
Katharine Selden Kniskern

1916
Ithaca, New York
Died1991
Jackson, Mississippi
Occupationgeologist
Years active1942 to 1982
Known forcareer with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
AwardsFederal Woman's Award (1963)

Katharine Selden Kniskern Mather (October 21, 1916 – February 4, 1991) was an American geologist with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, conducting research on cement and concrete.

Early life

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Katharine Selden Kniskern was born October 21, 1916, in Ithaca, New York, the daughter of Walter Hamlin Kniskern and Katharine Emily Selden Kniskern.[1] Her parents both graduated from Cornell University.[2] Her father was a chemical engineer.[3] She attended St. Catherine's School in Richmond, Virginia, and earned a degree in geology at Bryn Mawr College in 1937.[4] She pursued further geological studies as a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University from 1937 to 1940.[5][6]

Career

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Mather was a research associate at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, from 1940 to 1941. From 1942 to 1982, she was a geologist with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, based in Vicksburg, Mississippi at the Waterways Experiment Station (WES). She was chief of the petrography and x-ray branch in the Concrete Laboratory from 1947 to 1976, and chief of the Engineering and Science Division from 1976 to 1980.[1][5]

She served on the board of directors of the American Concrete Institute from 1968 to 1971, and as president of the Clay Minerals Society in 1973.[6]

She was editor of The Journal of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences in the 1960s.[6] Her research usually focused on cement and concrete, with technical publications such as "Applications of Light Microscopy in Concrete Research" (1953),[7] "Examination of Cores from Four Highway Bridges in Georgia" (1973),[8] "Concrete Weathering at Treat Island, Maine" (1980),[9] and "Condition of Concrete in Martin Dam after 50 Years of Service" (1981).[10]

She and her husband were avid butterfly collectors, and co-wrote Butterflies of Mississippi (1958).[11][12][13]

Awards

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Six women and one man standing in a row in the Oval Office, in 1963.
President John F. Kennedy with 1963 Federal Woman's Award winners. From left to right: Katie Louchheim, Bessie Margolin, Eleanor L. Makel, Verna C. Mohagen, President Kennedy, Blanche W. Noyes, Eleanor C. Pressly, Katharine Mather. Photograph by Cecil W. Stoughton.

Mather received several awards and honors for her work,[6] including these:

  • C-9 Sanford E. Thompson Award, American Society for Testing and Materials (1953)
  • Wasson Medal for Research, American Concrete Institute (1955, with Tom Kennedy)
  • Department of the Army Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service (1962)[14]
  • Federal Woman's Award (1963)[15]
  • Department of Defense Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service (1964)[14]
  • Woman of the Year Award, Jackson Business and Professional Women's Club (1968)
  • Waterways Experiment Station Woman of the Year (1974)
  • Honorary Doctor of Science, Clarkson University (1978)[16]
  • Arthur R. Anderson Award, American Concrete Institute (1982)
  • WES Gallery of Distinguished Former Employees (1984)

President Lyndon B. Johnson named Mather to the President's Study Group on Careers for Women in 1964. In 1986, the Mississippi Academy of Sciences recognized her contributions in 1980 and 1986.[5] She was elected a fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America.[6][17]

Personal life

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Katharine Kniskern married fellow geologist Bryant Mather (1916-2002) in 1940.[18] She died on February 4, 1991, aged 75 years, in Jackson, Mississippi.[6] Her papers are held in the Archives of Women in Science and Engineering, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University.[5] The American Concrete Institute named the Katharine and Bryant Mather Fellowship in honor of the Mathers.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b Lives of Mississippi Authors, 1817-1967. Univ. Press of Mississippi. 1981. pp. 327–328. ISBN 9781617034183.
  2. ^ Cornell University (1922). Cornell Alumni Directory: Containing the Foundation, History, and Government of the University; the Principal Alumni Organizations; a Directory of the Alumni. Author. pp. 180. Katharine Selden Kniskern.
  3. ^ "Walter H. Kniskern Succumbs Here". The Progress-Index. January 31, 1961. p. 10. Retrieved September 19, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Kilocycles (Bryn Mawr College 1937): 55.
  5. ^ a b c d "Katharine Kniskern Mather Papers, MS 351". Archives of Women in Science and Engineering, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Mather, Bryant, "Memorial of Katharine Mather, October 21, 1916 – February 4, 1991" American Mineralogist 78(1993): 239-240.
  7. ^ Mather, Katharine (1953). "Applications of Light Microscopy in Concrete Research". Symposium on Light Microscopy. pp. 51–70. doi:10.1520/STP47927S. ISBN 978-0-8031-8373-5. S2CID 106416286.
  8. ^ Mather, Katharine (November 1973). "Examination of Cores from Four Highway Bridges in Georgia". Defense Technical Information Center. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021.
  9. ^ Mather, Katharine (1980-08-01). "Concrete Weathering at Treat Island, Maine". Symposium Paper. 65: 101–112. doi:10.14359/6349 (inactive 1 November 2024).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  10. ^ Wedding, PA; Mather, K. (1981). "Condition of Concrete in Martin Dam After 50 Years of Service". Cement, Concrete and Aggregates. 3: 53. doi:10.1520/CCA10202J.
  11. ^ "Butterfly Hobby Becomes Study of Lifetime for Clinton Resident". Clarion-Ledger. April 14, 1991. p. 20. Retrieved September 19, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Culbertson, Jean (February 9, 1969). "Foremost Moth, Butterfly Collector is Discoverer". Clarion-Ledger. p. 57. Retrieved September 19, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Mather, Bryant; Mather, Katharine (1958). The Butterflies of Mississippi. Tulane University.
  14. ^ a b "Mrs. Mather Honored for Engineering Work". Clarion-Ledger. August 14, 1964. p. 5. Retrieved September 19, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Former Ithacan Wins Federal Woman's Award". The Ithaca Journal. April 8, 1963. p. 4. Retrieved September 19, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Graduations". Clarion-Ledger. April 30, 1978. p. 90. Retrieved September 19, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Hurlbut, C. S. Jr. (March–April 1960). "Proceedings of the Fortieth Annual Meeting" (PDF). The American Mineralogist: 421.
  18. ^ "Mather-Kniskern". The Baltimore Sun. March 31, 1940. p. 73. Retrieved September 19, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
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