Jump to content

Edith Merritt McKee

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edith Merritt McKee
A smiling middle-aged white woman with dark hair, wearing glasses and two strands of pearls
Edith Merritt McKee, from a 1976 publication of the US Commerce Department
Born(1918-10-09)October 9, 1918
DiedOctober 3, 2006(2006-10-03) (aged 87)
CitizenshipUS
EducationNorthwestern University (B.S.), University of Chicago (Master's degree, Geology)
Known forfirst woman to work in Saudi oil fields
Scientific career
FieldsGeology, Petrology
InstitutionsAramco, National Geographic Society, Smithsonian Institution and Encyclopædia Britannica

Edith Merritt McKee (October 9, 1918 – August 3, 2006) was an American geologist.[1]

Early life and education

[edit]

McKee was born in Oak Park, Illinois.[2] Her parents were Eustis Ewart and Edith McKee.[1] She grew up in Illinois and Northern Michigan.[1]

She graduated from Northwestern University in 1946,[2] and received a master's degree in Geology from the University of Chicago.[1]

Later life

[edit]

During World War II McKee worked for the U.S. Department of Defense to develop maps and profiles of land formations to help the military develop attack plans and bombardments.[1]

She was a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists[3] and a member of the Geological Society of America.[1]

McKee was the first woman to work in the oil fields of Saudi Arabia.[1] After she had finished working the oil fields, she became a geological consultant for National Geographic, Smithsonian Institution and Encyclopædia Britannica.[1] Prior to electronic methods of navigation, one of her projects was creating subsurface maps of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior to be used for navigation and to chart the water currents in the lakes. Her research demonstrated vegetation and sea life along the shores of Northern Michigan were affected due to the warm water discharge from the power plant in Charlevoix.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Edith Merritt McKee, 87". Petoskey News-Review. August 11, 2006. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  2. ^ a b American Men & Women of Science. Thomson/Gale. 2009-01-01. ISBN 9781414433059. Edith Merritt McKee.
  3. ^ Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. American Association of Petroleum Geologists. 1952-01-01.