Scientist Mary Engle Pennington transformed food safety and refrigeration standards
Despite facing gender discrimination in education, Pennington became a leading pioneer in preserving perishable foods through refrigeration research.
Mary Engle Pennington became a leading food safety pioneer after overcoming barriers to science education, according to the Times of India. Although her request for a chemistry course was denied by a school headmistress who believed the subject was not for women, Pennington pursued higher education at the University of Pennsylvania.
Pennington earned a doctorate in chemistry in 1895. After completing her studies, she established the Philadelphia Clinical Laboratory to conduct bacteriological analyses. She later joined the US Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Chemistry in 1905, where she worked with Harvey Wiley on cold-storage issues.
In 1906, Pennington became the first woman to head the Food Research Laboratory. To help her secure the role, Wiley submitted her application under the name M.E. Pennington to hide her gender.
After she earned the top score on the civil service exam, Wiley defended her appointment against gender-based exclusion.
Her research focused on how refrigeration could prevent bacterial growth in items such as milk, eggs, and cheese. The National Inventors Hall of Fame noted that her methods for handling perishable goods were later adopted by the food-handling industry.
During World War I, Pennington worked with the War Food Administration to test the cooling systems of 40,000 refrigerated railway cars. She helped establish national standards for the construction and insulation of ice-cooled carriages to improve food distribution.
