Ursula B. Marvin in Antarctica, 1978-1979,  Smithsonian Institution Archives

Ursula was born and raised in Vermont, and went to college at Tufts, graduating in 1943. She developed at Tufts an enduring interest in geology, which survived strong gender-based discouragement from a faculty member. She entered the Radcliffe graduate program, receiving an M.S. in geology in 1946. After a period in the private sector, she returned to Harvard and received her Ph. D. in geology in 1969. Ursula joined the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) in 1961, and spent the rest of her career there.

Ursula's work was widely recognized, including the History of Geology Award from the Geological Society of America (1986), the WISE Award for lifetime achievement in science (1997), the Geological Society of London's Sue Tyler Friedman Medal (2005), and the Service Award of the Meteoritical Society (2012). The Boston Globe ran an obituary about Ursula on February 19, which can be found here: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2018/02/18/ursula-bailey-ma....

More details on Ursula and her career are available in the following adapted excerpt from the CfA Almanac, July 1997:

When the Harvard Geology Club wanted to resume its all-male tradition after World War II, Ursula Bailey and her friends had a better idea. Already an accomplished researcher in the Geology Department, she thought The Club should be open to women. After some haggling, a compromise was reached. The first meeting of the year for The Geology Club would be "Ladies Night." When new business was called for, the Treasurer encouraged anyone who had not yet paid his or her dues to do so. Ursula was the first in line with her $2.00 — and the club has accepted women ever since.

Although over-used, the word "pioneer" fits quite well when describing Dr. Ursula Marvin (nee Bailey). As a child in rural Vermont, Ursula found the land around her, especially the mountains and their rocks, a natural interest. And, although she took few science courses in high school, she often helped her father in his job as an entomologist for the state of Vermont. However, she never really considered science as a career until her second year of required science at Tufts College — the first being an unfruitful one in biology and discovered a love for geology.

"I was amazed at how hours in a biology lab seemed endless, but, once in the geology lab, time went by so quickly," she said. "Unfortunately, when I asked my geology professor if I could switch majors to geology he told me I should be learning to cook. Geology was no field for women."

Even though she could not change her major, Ursula continued taking as many geology courses as possible, graduating in 1943 with a degree in history. Another Tufts professor encouraged her to apply to Radcliffe for graduate study in geology. While she lacked many of the background courses, Ursula had excellent grades in geology and was accepted into the program. She received her Master's degree in geology from Harvard-Radcliffe in 1946.

After spending some time as a Research Assistant at the University of Chicago, she returned to Harvard to begin work toward a doctorate. There she met fellow graduate student, Tom Marvin, who later became her husband. Before either could finish their degrees, however, they were lured away by the Union Carbide Ore Company and sent to Brazil to look for manganese oxide deposits, a necessary ingredient for Union Carbide's Eveready batteries. After a year, the company sent them to the highlands of Angola to look for more manganese oxide, as well as copper and other minerals. Later, they went back to Brazil, remaining there until 1958.

When the Marvins returned to Cambridge from South America, her former advisor at Harvard asked her to join him studying meteorites. Soon, she also was collaborating with Dr. Edward L. Fireman at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, then a growing force on Observatory Hill. In 1961, Marvin was offered a civil service position at SAO — a position she held for decades.