Ray, Dixy Lee

▪ 1995

      (MARGARET RAY), U.S. zoologist and government official (b. Sept. 3, 1914, Tacoma, Wash.—d. Jan. 2, 1994, Fox Island, near Seattle, Wash.), was a colourful and outspoken supporter of the nuclear industry, critic of the environmental movement, and proponent of making science more accessible to nonscientists. A childhood fascination with the sea led to academic degrees in zoology from Mills College, Oakland, Calif. (B.A., 1937), and Stanford University (Ph.D., 1945). A specialist in marine crustacea, Ray joined the faculty of the University of Washington, where she taught for 27 years. In 1963 Ray accepted the directorship of the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, which she developed into a major facility for publicizing and popularizing science. Although she had served on numerous federal advisory groups, Ray first moved to the nation's capital in August 1972 after she was selected by Pres. Richard Nixon to be a member of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), the first woman to be appointed to a full five-year term; she succeeded James Schlesinger as chairman of that body the following year. Ray's unconventional lifestyle (she lived in a house trailer with her two dogs, which she occasionally took to the office with her) provided piquant contrast to the stereotypical Washington bureaucracy. Following the breakup of the AEC into two agencies in 1974, Ray moved to the Department of State and served as assistant secretary in charge of the Bureau of Oceans, International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. She resigned in 1975 in protest against a lack of support from Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger. Returning to Washington state, Ray was elected governor in 1977 and served one four-year term. In addition to writing many scientific papers, Ray was coauthor of two books on the excesses of the environmental movement, Trashing the Planet (1990) and Environmental Overkill (1993).

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