Melamed | Ingram|
Marylou Ingram
Marylou Ingram was at the last ISAC meeting in San Diego - she walked the lenght of that conference center - she present a poster and put it up herself.....and she was 93 years old! What an amazing lady she was. I stand in awe of someone who has dedicated her entire life to the betterment of mankind. One of the greatest privileges I had was to sit in Marylou’s dining room while she taught me about how she and others participated in some of the early research on blood. When I asked her if it would be possible to obtain a Scientific American reprint from the 1960s, she was able to locate a copy in 2 minutes and handed it to me. I was amazed at her ability to recall specific details of experiments performed decades ago. So focused was her mind on science, that it was the thing that her drove her life. Marylou Ingram recognized technology advances that would have impact well before many others. She was an instant convert to the new accurate blood counting tools developed by Wallace Coulter over 50 years ago and she staked her scientific reputation on their use. I can only imagine Marylou driving across the country with a trailer attached with a small mobile lab which contained a revolutionary Coulter counter. I can see her telling Joe or Wallace Coulter exactly how she was going to use this tool to further her research. I doubt that either of them would have dared to argue with Marylou. This pioneering spirit was part of Marylou’s character to the very end. Marylou Ingram had two lives. The life most people live to about 65 having spent about 30 years perfecting their skills and achieving their goals. Then they retire. Marylou spent her second life of another 30 years doing more things than probably any other two people. The word “retire” was not in her dictionary. Such a gift to society is rare indeed and for her dedication to science we are all eternally grateful and humbled by her amazing spirit. Thank you Marylou – you have been a breath of fresh air, a vision of a scientist to emulate and an encyclopedia of knowledge that you have shared with all.
J. Paul Robinson, Purdue University
