Ivy May Parker (September 11, 1907 – September 7, 1985)[1] was an American chemist and engineer. She earned a doctorate in organic chemistry in 1935 and worked in the oil industry as a specialist on the causes and prevention of corrosion of pipelines.
Following her work as an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Mary Hardin–Baylor from 1934 to 1935, Parker was employed by Shell Oil Company as an analytical chemist from 1936 to 1943, and held the position of senior research chemist for the J.S. Abercrombie Company for one year. In 1945 she began a 27-year career at the Plantation Pipeline Company as a field technologist, research engineer, and senior engineer.[3]
Parker used her knowledge of chemistry to contribute to the development of pipeline technology as it evolved and expanded post-World War II. She published numerous papers on the issue of pipeline corrosion, and made innovations in both water- and oil-soluble inhibitors.[3]
In 1944 the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) appointed her as the first editor of their official publication, Corrosion, a position she occupied until 1965.[3][4] She was a specialist in research on the cause and prevention of corrosion of pipeline technology.[4]