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Mote Founder Eugenia Clark Dies

Posted by Jacob Ogles on Wednesday Feb 25, 2015 10:26 pm

Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium announced Wednesday evening that founder Eugenie "Genie" Clark had died. She was 92. Clark, referred to affectionately as the "Shark Lady," founded Mote 60 years ago.

Clark died from complications from lung cancer. She was active with marine research even late in life, and took her last ocean dive in late 2014 in the Gulf of Aqaba to do research still under peer review. Clark conducted 71 submersible dives as deep as 12,000 feet and led over 200 field research expeditions to the Red Sea, 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, Mote officials said. She wrote three popular 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.

She founded Mote in 1955 as the Cape Haze Marine Laboratory; it took on the Mote designation, named for a benefactor, in 1967. Clark would also join the zoology faculty at the University of Maryland from 1968 to 1992.

“There was absolutely no one like Genie Clark,” said Dr. Michael P. Crosby, President and CEO of Mote. “Her fascination with fishes and dedication to research changed marine science forever; her life story set an example for women in science and countless others who are striving to make a positive impact; her graciousness and warmth opened hearts and made ocean knowledge more accessible to many; and above all, her leadership and legacy sparked a tradition of world-class marine research and education that will continue for generations. Her passion for science and her freedom to pursue that science at Mote continue to inspire us all.”

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