During her graduate school days, her classmates and instructors fondly called her “Meese,” undoubtedly as a nod to her favorite lab animal, the mouse. Indeed, one of Dr. Mary Ellen O’Connor’s most noted research projects at The University of Tulsa involved mice and microwaves.
A strange combination, perhaps, but this multifaceted scholar was looking for answers to large questions. She wanted to know more about the effects of what was becoming an everyday tool – the microwave oven. How might the ubiquitous device affect humans; what was safe? And how could this newly harnessed power be useful? In answering these questions, she and TU engineering colleagues secured four U.S. patents on microwave devices for sanitizing clothes.
TU psychology faculty member Mary Ellen O’Connor possessed broad and diverse scientific knowledge, with degrees in psychology, biology and philosophy from Creighton University; a master’s degree in experimental psychology from the University of Missouri, Kansas City; and a doctorate in biopsychology from the University of Georgia. She took pride in being an interdisciplinary researcher, working with engineers, biophysicists, biochemists and others.
O’Connor joined the TU family in 1973 as an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology. She was later promoted to associate professor and served as psychology chair from 1981-82. Along with the biological effects of electromagnetic radiation, she studied behavioral teratology and toxicology and industrial safety. She co-authored numerous scientific articles in professional journals and shared her expertise as a technical consultant and scientific advisor to several organizations.
When Mary Ellen O’Connor died of cancer in January 2000, the many tributes told of someone who was much more than a serious scientist. She was a person of great character and judgment who enjoyed a positive outlook and had a straightforward manner. Colleague Don Justesen said she conjured the image of an Irish elf due to her red hair, sparkling green eyes and ready laugh. After a painful divorce, Mary Ellen did not wallow in bitterness and recrimination, according to Justesen. “Rather, with her characteristic aplomb, she returned to teaching, research and consulting with renewed dedication.”
Mary Ellen appeared to love skiing as much as science, and she considered her friends in the Tulsa Ski Club her second family. “Mary Ellen was my friend. I knew she should be the first time I saw her dining room table piled with books and papers,” said Tulsa Ski Club president Rhonda Pederson. “A woman who values living life over a clean house has the right kind of heart.”
When cancer struck in the mid-1990s, Mary Ellen met it with courage and a sense of humor. Just a few days before her death, she donned her skis and made a final run down the slopes. She also attended one last ski club meeting, from which she was taken to the hospital. She died three days later.
In remembrance of this outstanding woman, friends and family joined Mary Ellen O’Connor’s estate, represented by her mother, Laurene M. O’Connor, to establish the Mary Ellen O’Connor Memorial Endowed Scholarship in Psychology. Recipients are known as O’Connor Scholars, and these students will continue to conduct research and seek answers under the mantle of a remarkable scientist and scholar.
