Gene Clark, Coastal Engineering Specialist at the Sea Grant Institute of UW-Madison was one of this year’s winners of the Board of Regents Academic Staff Awards for Excellence. This award is “the UW System’s highest recognition bestowed on members of its academic staff.” Recipients will be honored at the June 5 Regents meeting in Milwaukee.
“This year’s award winners exemplify the commitment and far-reaching impact of our academic staff across the UW System,” said Regent Janice Mueller, chair of the selection committee. “We are honored to recognize their significant and diverse accomplishments on behalf of our students, campuses, and broader communities.”
For the complete press release, go to https://www.wisconsin.edu/news/archive/regents-to-honor-winners-of-2015-academic-staff-awards-for-excellence/. Information about Gene Clark is excerpted below.
Clark, who began his service at UW-Madison as a graduate research assistant in 1984, has worked with the UW Sea Grant Institute as a coastal engineer for the past 10 years. Clark is often called upon to explain coastal science and how it affects environmental trends. Last year, he conducted a series of public forums for local policymakers, business owners, and commercial and recreational fishermen on the topic of record-low levels of the Great Lakes. Clark’s skillful personal interactions are frequently cited in thank-you letters from grateful community members whom he has helped with coastline concerns. Clark has partnered with the Milwaukee County Parks Department to provide real-time beach conditions, including warnings about rip currents in Lake Michigan. During his tenure, Clark has secured $1.1 million in additional funds for projects to improve beach safety along Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, find productive uses for harbor-dredged material (saving an estimated $125 million in landfill storage costs), and meet the challenges of failing port, harbor, and marina infrastructure. One of Clark’s long-term projects – mitigating steel infrastructure disintegration at the Port of Duluth-Superior due to microbial action combined with winter ice scour – received national attention in 2014, earning the Research to Application Award from the national Sea Grant Association. He is one of 13 people around the country who serve as experts on a team advising the National Sea Grant College Program in the area of resilient communities and economies.