Read Mote\u2019s feature story about Clark\u2019s life and legacy.<\/a><\/p>\nClark, an ichthyologist, was a world authority on fishes \u2014 particularly sharks and tropical sand fishes. A courageous diver and explorer, Clark conducted 72 submersible dives as deep as 12,000 feet and led over 200 field research expeditions to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba, Caribbean, Mexico, Japan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Thailand, Indonesia and Borneo to study sand fishes, whale sharks, deep sea sharks and spotted oceanic triggerfish. She wrote three books and more than 175 articles, including research publications in leading peer-reviewed journals such as Science and a dozen popular stories in National Geographic magazine.<\/p>\n
In 1955, Clark started the one-room Cape Haze Marine Laboratory in Placida, Fla., with her fisherman assistant and with philanthropic support and hearty encouragement from the Vanderbilt family. The Lab thrived in partnership with its community and became Mote Marine Laboratory in 1967 to honor major benefactor William R. Mote. Today the Lab is based on City Island, Sarasota, and it hosts 24 diverse marine research and conservation programs, education programs for all ages and a major public Aquarium. The Lab has six campuses in Florida and more than 200 staff, including scientists who work in oceans surrounding all seven continents.<\/p>\n
Clark joined the Zoology faculty at the University of Maryland in 1968, and she officially retired in 1992. She returned to Mote in 2000 as Senior Scientist and Director Emerita and later became a Trustee. There, she continued to build upon and champion the groundbreaking research that she started 60 years ago.<\/p>\n
During Monday\u2019s ceremony, it was clearer than ever that Dr. Clark\u2019s legacy is her passion for marine science and her amazing ability to communicate her discoveries to any audience \u2014 especially to younger generations.
\n\u201cGenie was truly a remarkable person,\u201d said Dr. Michael P. Crosby, President & CEO of Mote, during the ceremony. \u201cHer passion for marine science will always be carried on here, in our hearts. Genie had the freedom to pursue her fascination with marine science and the oceans, and she gave birth to Mote, this amazing institution where the next generation of marine scientists will be able to follow in the wave of her legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I had to pick one thing that\u2019s a legacy for her, it\u2019s that she connected with our communities, connected with our young people, and she impressed upon me that we needed to have more young people involved here,\u201d said Dr. Kumar Mahadevan, the President Emeritus of Mote who has known Clark for 37 years. \u201cShe helped a lot of generations get inspired about marine science, but also about our coastal environment. That is even more important \u2014 we live in a finite world and we need to preserve and conserve what we have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clark led her amazing life \u201cagainst all odds,\u201d said Dr. Jose Castro, a fisheries biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) who is writing her biography. He noted that Clark, born in 1922 in New York to a Japanese mother and American father, had to overcome discrimination against her heritage, especially around the time of World War II. She also faced gender discrimination from those who believed science was a men\u2019s field. But she succeeded anyway, working with excellent mentors and driven by extraordinary curiosity. \u201cCuriosity is the main quality that distinguishes a good scientist from a mediocre one. She had a lot of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
During Mote\u2019s video tribute at the ceremony, Clark\u2019s own words showed how curiosity and determination drove her onward.<\/p>\n