MS 379: ORAL HISTORY COLLECTION
Bryant Mather Biography

Biographical Note

Mather, a native of Baltimore, Md., was born in 1916. He graduated with an A.B. (1936) from Johns Hopkins. He was employed as an assistant curator of minerals (1939-1941) at the Chicago Museum of Natural History; a geologist (1941-1942) and concrete res earch engineer (1942-1946) at the U.S. War Dept. Concrete Laboratory; and then went to work for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Mississippi. His positions there include Chief of the Special Investigative Branch of the Concrete Division (1946-1965); A ssistant Chief and Chief (1965-1992) of the Structural Laboratory and he is currently the Director of the Structural Laboratory.

His research interests are structural geology; composition and properties of concrete and concrete aggregates; methods of testing (particularly of dams); and butterflies and moths of Mississippi. He has received the following awards: Sanford E. Thompson Award (1961); Frank E. Richart Award (1972); Henry C. Turner Medal (1973); Charles S. Whitney Medal (1974); William T. Cavanaugh Award (1990); and Robert E. Philleo Award (1992). Mather is also a member of American Association for the Advancement of Scie nce; the Meteoritical Society; the American Concrete Institute; the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers; and Sigma Xi.

He was married to Katharine Kniskern Mather.

Scope and Content

Mather discusses his background, including education and employment, as well as the background of his wife, Katharine (Kay). He also describes their working together for the Army Corps of Engineers, her receipt of various awards, and the concrete industry.

Tanya Zanish-Belcher, Curator
Archives of Women in Science & Engineering (WISE)
Special Collections Department
Iowa State University Library, Ames, IA 50011-4120
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