Mary Lowe Good

Mary Lowe Good's chemical career took her to the corridors of political decision making in Washington, D.C. Her public advocacy about the social importance of science and technology earned her appointments to the National Science Board from Presidents Carter and Reagan. Good was the first woman to lead this important group, which directs much of the government's support for research. President Clinton selected Good to be the undersecretary for technology in the Department of Commerce, where she encouraged government, industry, and universities to work together.

About Her Life

Mary Lowe was born in Grapevine, Texas, in 1931, the child of two teachers. In 1943 her family left Texas for Kirby, Arkansas, where her father was offered a job as school principal. She attended the University of Central Arkansas, at first majoring in home economics but later switching to chemistry. She earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry and then continued her chemical education at the University of Arkansas, earning her Ph.D. in 1955. At the University of Arkansas, she also met and married William J. Good, who was a graduate student studying physics. Good then joined the chemistry faculty at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, where she became an assistant professor. In 1958 LSU opened a new campus in New Orleans, and both of the Goods were asked to serve on the faculty there. Good spent the next 20 years of her career in New Orleans.

"Technology is . . . estimated to account for as much as 50% of the Nation's long-term [economic] growth. That is why I have spent most of my professional career advocating the importance of R&D and technology in our academic, industrial, and government budgets."—Mary Lowe Good, testifying before the House Science Committee

In 1967 she began using a new experimental technique called Mössbauer spectroscopy. Spectroscopy uses the interactions between matter and electromagnetic radiation, such as infrared radiation and visible light, to answer chemical and physical questions. Mössbauer spectroscopy, which uses gamma rays, is particularly useful for figuring out the molecular structure of complicated compounds containing metal ions. Good used the technique to study compounds containing the metallic element ruthenium.

In 1978 Good returned to LSU's main campus in Baton Rouge after being appointed the Boyd Professor of Chemistry, the chemistry department's highest honor. She didn't stay there long, though, leaving LSU in 1980 to become vice president and director of research for Universal Oil Products. She remained in industry for 13 years, staying with the same company through several mergers and name changes. She was vice president of technology at Allied-Signal when she left the firm in 1993. Along the way, she pursued other activities, including one year as president of the American Chemical Society.

Good headed for a third career, this time in government. Her involvement with government first began in the 1970s, when she served on the National Science Board, first under President Carter and then under President Reagan. In 1991 President Bush appointed her to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. All these were part-time jobs, but in 1993 she went to work in government full-time as the undersecretary for technology in the U.S. Department of Commerce under President Clinton, a position she held for four years.

After leaving government, Good returned to academia, taking a position at the University of Arkansas, her alma mater. She is also a managing member of Venture Capital Investors, an organization that aims to foster high-tech business and industry in Arkansas. In addition to chemistry, she enjoys fly-fishing and Scottish history. She and her husband have two children and several grandchildren.

For Further Reading on the Web

Good, Mary L. Oral history interview by James Traynham, 2 June 1998. Interview 0171, Chemical Heritage Foundation Oral History Collection, Philadelphia. Abstract, table of contents, and biographical information available online.