Joan Muriel Mattingley (married name Cameron; 5 March 1926 – 27 July 2015) was a New Zealand clinical chemist. Mattingley was born in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

on 5 March 1926, and was educated at

Wellington Girls' College Wellington Girls' College was founded in 1883 in Wellington, New Zealand. At that time it was called Wellington Girls' High School. Wellington Girls' College is a year 9 to 13 state secondary school, located in Thorndon in central Wellington. ...

. When aged 17, she applied to work at the

Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, abbreviated DSIR was the name of several British Empire organisations founded after the 1923 Imperial Conference to foster intra-Empire trade and development. * Department of Scientific and Industria ...

but was told that girls could not become botanists "because it required tramping". Mattingley graduated with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree from

Victoria University College Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

in 1949, and completed a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in biological chemistry from

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

in 1977. She worked as a clinical chemist, and rose to become the senior scientific officer in the biochemistry research unit at Wellington Hospital. Mattingley was twice president of the

New Zealand Association of Scientists The New Zealand Association of Scientists is an independent association for scientists in New Zealand. It was founded in 1941 as the New Zealand Association of Scientific Workers, and renamed in 1954.Gregory, G., 2013. Not to be forgotten: New ...

(NZAS) in 1987/88 and 1988/89. During her tenure, the NZAS made many submissions on government restructuring of the New Zealand science system. Mattingley referred to these changes as "extraordinary upheavals" that would devastate New Zealand science and create a "generally confused, bewildered, insecure scientific community". Her biography of the scientist Brian Shorland was published under her married name, Joan Cameron. Mattingley died in

Paraparaumu Paraparaumu is a town in the south-western North Island of New Zealand. It lies on the Kāpiti Coast, north of the nation's capital city, Wellington. It is also known to residents as Pram or Paraparam. Like other towns in the area, it has a ...

on 27 July 2015, having been predeceased by her husband, Charles Cameron. In 2017, Mattingley was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "

150 women in 150 words The "150 women in 150 words" project was undertaken by the Royal Society Te Apārangi and published during their 150th anniversary celebrations in 2017. The aim of the project was "celebrating women's contributions to expanding knowledge in New Z ...

", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand.

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mattingley, Joan 1926 births 2015 deaths People educated at Wellington Girls' College New Zealand women chemists Victoria University of Wellington alumni Scientists from Wellington City