Genevieve McGlinchey Mathison (Radcliffe A.B. in Chemistry 1932, Boston College M.S. in Physics 1943, Boston College CAGS in Education 1960) worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Radiation Lab during World War II, at China Lake in California post-war, testing the Sidewinder Missile, and at the Naval Underwater Ordnance Station in Newport, from 1951-1957, testing the MK 16 MOD 4 torpedo.
For students in Newport her actions were life altering. She was president of the Aquidneck Island Council of PTAs in the 1950s, and working with the American Lung Association initiated a program to test schoolchildren for tuberculosis. As an officer in the Newport Engineering Society, she advocated for science scholarships for females. While serving as the first female science department chair at Newport’s Rogers High School in 1957, she started the Newport County Science Fair.
Genevieve’s civic accomplishments are equally noteworthy. She helped found the Historic Hill Association and Operation Clapboard and organized events for the Rhode Island Independence Commemorative at Newport for the Bicentennial. She also served ten years on the Newport School Committee during the 1980s -1990s and assisted in creating Christmas at Newport and Irish Cultural Heritage Month. Her testimony before the Department of Environmental Management led to state affirmation of twenty-two rights of way to the Newport waterfront and Cliff Walk.
Biography and image provided by Marian Mathison Desrosiers
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