Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1958-08-07
BY Kathleen Leary
WOman,S Editor

Laboratory in Silver Spring and
Howard County. Her specially is
experimental fluid mecnanIcs, or
aero dynamlcs. In otner words,
she does research on the motion
OF air.
Last November she attended a
tecnncal meeting of the Fluid Dy-
names DIVISION, American Physl-
cal Society. About 200 scientists
were on hand. Vivian and two otn-
ers were the only women.
Wins Medal
Working almost exclusively
with men mas become a habit with
VIVIAN, VINO recently was awarded
the Amelia Earhart gold medal
and one-year scholarship to
continue her studies IN aviation
science at Johns Hopkins Unlver-
Slty. Only two other women in
the world, one from emma and
another from France, acnleVed the
same distinction this year. The
awards are made annually pro-
v1ded there are qualified candi-
da6eS.
Vivian was in her senior year
at Goucher College, Baltimore, be-
fore realizing she could use her
A. B. degree in mathematics in
another field other than educa-
tion. Several aircraft companies
made offers and she decided on
The (Glenn L. Martin Company
in Middle River near her home in
Baltimore.
Equal Rights
What are the drawbacks to
working chiefly with men? Vivian
was very bitter about inequality
at one time. She remembers
working along side a man who
had an engineering degree and
was rated as an aero-dynamlst.
Vivian did the same job but be-
cause she held a liberal arts de-
gree she had a computater's rat
ing.
Il had to work myself up" she
explains, with a masters degree
in mathematics from Johns Hop.
kins, and masters in engineer.
ing from the universitys aero.
nautics department.
She believes there are many
young women capable and inter.
ested in science who are steered
out of it or simply not told about
the opportunities.
Educators Failing
Math and physical science
courses are offered in high
schools as preparation for col.
lege, Vivian points out, but stu.
dents aren't told about the careers
to which the courses might lead.
She admits most jobs offered
women in science are routine
ones, but educators should, point
out, she feels, that there are jobs
to be had in which every mathe-
MATES course offered may be
used rather than stress the rigor.
Gus training and hard work lead
ing to such careers.
At first her job with The Mar
tin Company was all theoretical
desk work with formulas and
computation.
When Johns Hopkins University
opened its department of aero
nautics in 1947, Vivian went along
with ceveral co-workers to assist
with research projects. She Joined
the Applied Physics Lab in the
fall of 1855.
Pet Project
One air problem particularly
interesting to the 34-year-old
woman scientist is vortex rings
This is the transition of the Iami
mar (slow and SMOOTH flow of
air to the turbulent 0umpy) air
flow pattern. The change re
quires an airplane TO increase
power to maintain its speed, and
Vivian wants to find out the
why's and wherefors.
Outside the laboratory, Vivian
serves as leader of both senior
and an intermediate Girl Scout
troop. She was once a counselor
at the national encampment in
Cody, Wyo., where the geysers
of Yellowstone National Park and
the petrified wood along noun
tains set her to wondering
whats happening in this earth's
crust?"
She took a geology expedition
there and decided TO guide hel
own troops on such a trip ir
Maryland this year.
Vivian O'Brien is soft spoken
and dresses casually wearing NJ
makeup. She says she's not do
mestically inclined and would
rather cook over a campfire thar
kitchen stove.
DO men co-workers mind then
manners around her? Vivian say:
there's no show Of gallantry, she:
lust one of the heann.