Background
She was born in Tsinan, Shantung, China in March 1902.
She was born in Tsinan, Shantung, China in March 1902.
Miss Ma received her early education at home. Then she studied at the Shantung Girls' Normal School in 1914-1918 and was sent by the Shantung Provincial Government to study at the Normal School of Physical Education at Shanghai in 1918-1920.
She also taught physical education at the Shantung Girls' Normal School in 1920-1921 and was sent to the United States for advanced study on a Government scholarship and attended the University of Texas, Austin, Texas in 1923-1930, specializing in botany.
Miss Ma received Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in 1927 and Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1930 with a major in botany and first minor in organic chemistry and second minor in bacteriology.
During 1924-1926 Shin-yi Ma acted as an assistant in the Department of Botany, University of Texas and during 1926-1929 she was holder of the University Fellowships of the University.
She was also a lecturer in botany at Yenching University Peiping in 1930-1933, research fellow in the Department of Bacteriology at the P.U.M.C in Peiping, China in 1931-1933, professor of botany at the Kwangsi University in Wuchow, Kwangsi, China since 1933 and member of the following societies: Sigma XI, Iota Sigma Pi, Phi Tau Phi, Beta Beta Beta, American Society of Botany, American Society of Chemistry, American Association for Advancement of Science, Science Society of China, Botanical Society of China, Chemistry Society of China, Peking Natural History Society.
Miss Ma was an author: "The Chloropiasts of Isoetes melanopoda", Amer. Jour. Bot. 14: 277-284, May, 1928, "The Chloroplasts of Selaginella", Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, 57: 277-284, May, 1931, "Starch deposition in the sporogenous cells of certain mosses", Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, 57: 525-532, Aug., 1931, "A study on the soil fungi of the Peking District", Lingnan Science Jour. 12 115-118, May, 1933, "Seasonal variations of fungi in soils in the vicinity of Peiping", Peking Natural History Bulletin, 7 : 293-297, 1933.