Mary C. Rabbitt

Mary Collins Rabbitt (January 25, 1915 – August 8, 2002) born Mary Priscilla Collins, was an America geophysicist, administrator, and historian for the United States Geological Survey (USGS).[1]

Rabbitt earned her bachelor of arts in geological sciences at Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard. During the time that Rabbitt studied at Radcliffe, it was against Harvard University's policies to allow students studying at Radcliffe to attend classes at Harvard, yet Harvard professor, Esper Larsen, allowed Rabbitt to work in his office under his tutelage.[1] Rabbitt specialized in the seismology of nuclear explosions. Her work was acknowledged by "The Geological Society of America's History"[1] for aiding in the rejuvenation of systematic research methods, when studying the earth.

Alongside her contributions to the USGS,[1] Rabbit revitalized the editorial process of scientific publications. She published seven works, including A Brief History of the U.S. Geological Survey,[2] three volumes of Minerals, Lands, and Geology for the Common Defense and General Welfare, John Wesley Powell’s Exploration of the Colorado River, John Wesley Powell: Soldier, Explorer, Scientist, and The United States Geological Survey, 1879-1989.[3] In John Wesley Powell’s Exploration of the Colorado River, Rabbitt describes U.S. soldier, geologist, explorer, John Wesley Powell's, discoveries in the Colorado Plateau.[4] She describes the depositional processes in the Grand Canyon as the Colorado River flows through the Grand Canyon, eroding the canyon walls and exposing layers of rock and fossil evidence recording a span of approximately two billion years.[4] In Minerals, Lands, and Geology for the Common Defense and General Welfare Volume 2, 1879-1904, Rabbit outlines how the development of public land, mapping policies, and the development of mineral resources in the United States shaped the maturation of the field of geology.[5] Volume 3 describes the USGS' interest in reviewing basic research from the 1904 conservation movement till strategic mineral studies. She outlines the struggles researchers faced during the intervention of the Federal government for conservation and public land classification. She describes how World War 1 and the subsequent economic crash in 1929 increased strain on the studies. She also conveyed how the changing economies of coal and agriculture and the need to study water and minerals put excess strain on the Survey.[6] According to Rabbit, the study of geology was first differentiated from the study of natural history at a mining school in Freiberg, Saxony, but the science of geology began to advance once the United States Federal Government began employing geologists to evaluate mineral resources and classify mineral lands.[5]

Shortly after World War two, Rabbitt joined an allied group and helped interview Japanese scientists. In 1947, she married a geologist named John Charles Jack Rabbitt. Shortly after, in 1957 Rabbitt helped conduct studies about rock magnetics and further articulated the concepts of tectonics, geologic time scale, and the impact of factors such as stress and heat on stratification.[1] l

Mary's contributions were recognized when she received the Geological Society of America's History of Geology Award[7] (1984). The award was renamed in her memory in 2005. Mary was also rewarded by the Department of the Interior's Distinguished Service Award[8](1988). The organizations hoped she would continue her path into making geology a more informed field.