Mary Williams-Norton

Making physics fun

For 37 years, from 1975 to 2012, Mary E. Williams-Norton made it her mission to promote physics and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) classes, not only to Ripon College students but also to younger students around the state of Wisconsin and the world.

“Research showed that if children’s attention isn’t caught by science by the fourth-grade level, they won’t go in that direction,” she said. “I like to keep the pipeline as wide as possible. There are no limits on who we will teach. Girls are still underrepresented. The more diversity in science, the better; the more we’ll discover and the better the nation will be.

“It’s in our national interest since technology drives the economic system to a great extent. STEM is vital to keeping our country productive.”

She was born May 31, 1946, in Manchester, Connecticut. She received her bachelor’s degree from Bates College and her master’s and Ph.D. from Rutgers University. A strong advocate for Welsh-American relations, culture and heritage, she facilitated Ripon’s study-abroad program at Swansea University and Bangor University.

At Ripon, she was a professor of physics, the Harrison E. Farnsworth 1918 Chair in Physics and chair of the department. She also taught astronomy and was Ripon’s representative for the Wisconsin Space Consortium. She was a strong role model, emphasizing the contribution of women in science, and designing Physics Fun Force, a group of physics students who visited elementary-school classrooms to do science activities with children.

Working closely with the Ripon College Education Department, she inspired elementary education students to love science teaching. She also worked with the Wisconsin Elementary and Middle Level Science Teachers organization to promote science education in public schools. Outside of the college classroom, Mary led Girl Scout troops in Poynette, WI and enthusiastically supported the Poynette School District.

She was a director of Project Madog, an Eisenhower Professional Development Program project to establish collaborations in primary science, mathematics and technology education between Wisconsin elementary schools and Welsh primary schools. This led to two Maymester courses in Wales for Ripon College students.

Other advocacy activities included being a member of numerous education and science organizations, and a recipient of  numerous grants and awards to expand work in those areas. Her philosophy was that “every child should be able to have fun with physics. … Men AND women, boys AND girls can both enjoy and succeed in science, especially physics.”

She retired from Ripon College in 2012 and died Sept. 27, 2022, at age 76.

A daughter, Jeanne Norton, is a 1999 graduate of Ripon. A grandson, Maxwell Dunday was in the Class of 2026.