Maria Crawford: Difference between revisions

'''Maria Luisa (Weecha) Crawford''' iswas an americanAmerican geologist/petrologist. She was born on July 18, 1939, in Beverly, Massachusetts, and died on November 4, 2023 in Haverford, PA [https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/inquirer/name/mar-a-crawford-obituary?id=53576832 Obituary]. In 1960, Crawford received a bachelor of arts degree in geology from [[Bryn Mawr College]], located in Pennsylvania. 5 years later, she received her doctorate degree from the University of California at Berkeley, where she met her husband, William Crawford. Shortly after graduating, Crawford became employed by [[Bryn Mawr College]] in the department of geology. Throughout her career, she had a wide range of interests. She was known to be one of the first scientists to use the electron micro probe on metamorphic rocks. Crawford has also been interested in lunar petrology and geochemistry. In this field, she researched the crystallization of lava that seemed to fill craters on the moon.<ref name=":0">{{Cite webCn|urldate=http://what-when-how.com/earth-scientists/crawford-maria-luisa-weecha-earth-scientist/|title=Crawford,June Maria Luisa (Weecha) (earth scientist)|website=what-when-how.com|access-date=2016-12-022023}}</ref>

Maria Luisa Crawford first became interested in geoscience after taking an introductory geology class to fill her science option requirement at [[Bryn Mawr College]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=http://nagt.org/nagt/students/awg_crawford.html|title=AWG’sAWG's Crawford Field Camp Scholarships|website=nagt.org|access-date=2016-12-02}}</ref> This sparked interest led her to dedicate her life to the geoscience field. In 1960,<ref name=":4"/> Crawford took a year off between her undergraduate and graduate studies in which she travelled to Norway.<ref name=":1"/> This introduction to travel began a lifelong passion that led her to study in the remote areas of Alaska and British Columbia.<ref name=":5"/> Upon her return to graduate school Crawford met her husband, fellow geologist, William A. Crawford. The two married while in graduate school and worked together, teaching geology, at [[Bryn Mawr College|Bryn Mawr]].<ref name=":5"/> Despite retiring from [[Bryn Mawr College]] in 2006, Crawford has remained an active member of the geoscience community.<ref name=":1"/> Her passion for travel and geology motivates her to continue working with school groups and undergraduate students. Today she often travels with student groups to many different countries to study geology.<ref name=":1"/>

Crawford is also a huge advocate for women in science. She and her husband founded the Crawford Field Camp Scholarship, awarded by the [[Association of Women Geoscientists]] to women pursuing careers in geoscience.<ref name=":1"/> Being one of few women in her field she recognizes the difficulty of working in a male-dominated profession and uses her expert experience to mentor and open doors for young women.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gates|first=Alexander|date=2003|title=A to Z of Earth Scientists|url=https://books.google.cacom/books?id=iiG70wX0HMwC&pg=PA63&lpg=PA63&dqq=maria+crawford+geologist&sourcepg=bl&ots=A6sDBWg0ux&sig=GDzgygDXsmWUv_04G0jZimFVGTw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwikh_-Mt9TQAhXk6oMKHZFdA7IQ6AEIRjAH#v=onepage&q&f=falsePA63|location=New York|publisher=Facts on File, Inc|page=63|isbn=978-0-8160-4580-18}}</ref>

As previously mentioned Maria Luisa Crawford first attended [[Bryn Mawr College]] in Pennsylvania, where she took a geology class as an option but realized she really enjoyed it, so she eventually switched her major to geology.<ref name=":5" /> In 1960, Crawford graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geology from Bryn Mawr College.<ref name=":0" /> In 1960-19611960–1961, she did a [[Fulbright Fellowship]] at the [[University of Oslo]] in Norway before she began her graduate studies.<ref name=":1" /> While in Norway, she also worked for a museum and helped with mineralogical studies. Crawford enjoyed graduate school mostly because she was able to learn and focus on metamorphic petrology.<ref name=":5" /> In 1965 she received her doctorate from the [[University of California, Berkeley]]. Shortly after, she became a geology professor at [[Bryn Mawr College]] and in 1985-19921985–1992 and was named the William R. Kenan Jr. Eminent Professor of Geology.<ref name=":0" />

In her 40 year long career,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://woodrow.org/about/fellows/maria-luisa-crawford/|title=Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation {{!}} Crawford, Maria Luisa|website=woodrow.org|access-date=2016-12-02}}</ref> Maria Luisa Crawford wrote 68 separate articles in various journals.<ref name=":0" /> Her area of research changed several times throughout her career. However, the majority of Crawford's work centered around gaining an understanding of past geological processes related to the earthEarth's crust. There was a period of time when Crawford became very interested in lunar petrology. She was involved in the study of several moon[[Moon rocks]] that had been retrieved during the Apollo missions. By studying these rocks she was able to determine that sometime in the moonMoon's history large meteorites struck its surface causing flood lavas.<ref name=":0" /> The work she did with lunar rocks is still mentioned in lunar studies to this day.<ref name=":1" />

Later in her career she was involved in the ACCRETE study conducted in Alaska and British Columbia. This study was a shift from the lunar petrology she had worked on previously. This time she was studying continental collision. This research was part of a larger study which detailed how a series of collisions between fragments of continents can build an entirely new continent.<ref name=":0" /> Overall, the geological community accepted and praised the ACCRETE study.<ref name=":0" />

Another major area of research that Crawford took on was the geology of the Pennsylvania Piedmont.<ref name=":0" /> She conducted a series of tests on the rocks in the area with the help of several graduate students.<ref name=":0" /> In 2002,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://acid.sdsc.edu/projects/geon|title=GEON: Geosciences Network {{!}} Advanced CyberInfrastructure Development|website=acid.sdsc.edu|access-date=2016-12-02}}</ref> she became involved in a project that combined the expertise of geoscientists and computer scientists. This project was given the name GEON; its goal was to create a database that would combine geological data from several other unaffiliated databases. At the time, geologists had to search through several databases and then combine this information together in order to conduct their research. This project was thought to have the potential to entirely change how geoscientific research was done. Crawford was given a National Science Foundation grant because of the role she played in the GEON project.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.brynmawr.edu/sandt/2003_april/scicyber.html|title=Science and Technology Newsletter :: April 2003|website=www.brynmawr.edu|access-date=2016-12-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020071422/http://www.brynmawr.edu/sandt/2003_april/scicyber.html|archive-date=2013-10-20|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Maria Crawford was also an environmental science and geology professor at [[Bryn Mawr College]] for a period of time. She began with the college in 1965 when she was hired to be an assistant professor. It wasn't until 1979 that she earned a position as a full -time professor.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.macfound.org/fellows/154/|title=Maria Luisa Crawford — MacArthur Foundation|website=www.macfound.org|access-date=2016-12-02}}</ref> While at [[Bryn Mawr College]] she began research on the evolution of convergent continental margin orogenic belts;<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.brynmawr.edu/geology/MLC/Research/Petrology%20research.htm|title=Petrology research at BMC|website=www.brynmawr.edu|access-date=2016-12-02}}</ref> she retired from this position in 2006. She was also notably a member of the Association of Women Geoscientists during her time as a professor; as part of this association she received the Outstanding Educator Award.<ref name=":0" />

*[http://www.brynmawr.edu/geology/MLC/MLCpubs/Beard1.pdf "Using incongruent, equilibrium hydration reactions to model latter-stage crystallization in plutons: examples from the Bell Island tonalite, Alaska"]. Beard, J.S., Ragland, P.C., and Crawford, M.L. ''Journal of Geology'', v. 113, 589-599589–599.

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110614134031/http://www.brynmawr.edu/geology/MLC/MLCpubs/Beard_geology.pdf "Reactive bulk assimilation: A model for crust-mantle mixing in silicic magmas"]. Beard, J.S., Ragland, P.C., and Crawford, M.L. Geology: v. 33, 681–684.

[[Category:20th-century American women scientists]]

[[Category:21st-century American women scientists]]

[[Category:20th-centuryAmerican women scientistsacademics]]