Mary L. Good is a highly regarded chemist whose multifaceted career has ranged from academia, to the industrial sector, to the national government, where she serves as undersecretary of technology in the Department of Commerce. Good is described by Jeffrey Trewhitt in Chemical Week as an unabashed proponent of industrial chemistry. She told Trewhitt that "we've ... gotten ourselves into a trap.... The word 'chemical' has become a bad name, and yet, without chemicals the world doesn't move. We've got to develop a better perspective."

Mary Lowe Good was born on June 20, 1931, in Grapevine, Texas, the daughter of John W. and Winnie (Mercer) Lowe. In 1950, she received a bachelor of science degree from the University of Central Arkansas, with a major in chemistry and with minors in both physics and mathematics. She received her master of science degree from the University of Arkansas in 1953, with majors in inorganic chemistry...