Joan Murrell Owens

 Joan Murrell Owens was an incredible figure in the marine biology field. Born on June 30th 1933 Owens she grew up by the ocean and wanted to be a marine biologist. Her father was her main inspiration, and would take her and her siblings on fishing trips and would push them to continue their education. She overcame many obstacles in her life but despite these obstacles she made important contributions to the study of coral. 

 Owens originally had a career in education and social work, earning a degree in fine arts from Fisk University and a master’s degree in guidance counseling from University of Michigan. She went on to teaching English at Howard University, then going on to become a curriculum creator for the institution for Services in Education in Newton, Massachusetts. However from an early age her true passion was marine biology, this led her to make the decision at 37 years old after almost two decades to go back to school. Owens applies to George Washington University to pursue her dream. 

 While studying at George Washington she had to find a way to support herself, she finds a job at Smithsonian’s National History Museum as a museum technician where she catalogs the paleontology specimens. After not being in school for almost 20 years despite many obstacles thrown her way she graduates with a masters degree and geology Phd making her the first African American woman to do so.  

 As a marine biologist most positions require diving experience but due to the fact Owens had sickle cell anemia a genetic disease that makes it so some red blood cells are shaped like crescent moons or sickles. This causes issues with the amount of oxygen in her blood. This disease ruined any chance of her diving and created a huge roadblock in her career. Luckily due to her job at the Smithsonian National History Museum and the relationships she made there, they allowed her to continue researching through the study collections. When doing her thesis as a professor at Howard University she studied button corals, building upon work already done by Don Squires. By the end of her work at the Simthsonian she discovered a new genus of button coral, the Rhombopsammia including three new species. Button coral is a species of stony coral; it is also known as cat’s eye coral, doughnut coral, and flat cup coral. This discovery changed the understanding of the evolutionary relationship of button coral and she inspired many young women in her field to persevere.