Women in Science and Engineering at Yale (2020 Edition)

Mary Engle Pennington (1872–1952), Ph.D.

Photo courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania Archives

Mary Pennington was a chemist and bacteriologist. She was a Yale Fellow in Physiological Chemistry (1897–1898) and with Professor Russell Henry Chittenden (1856–1943) investigated the effect of colored light on plants and their growth. Her early work developed methods of preventing spoilage of eggs, poultry, and fish. Later research was on freezing methods for various foods. In 1919, President Hoover awarded her the Notable Service Medal for her innovations in refrigeration. In 1940, she received the Garvan Medal from the American Chemical Society and in 1947, she became a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was also elected a Fellow in the American Society of Refrigerating Engineers (Harkanyi, p. 295).