Richard D. Clark

Richard D. Clark is the Chair of the Department of Earth Sciences and Professor of Meteorology at Millersville University of Pennsylvania where he has been for 31 years. His research interests are boundary layers and turbulence and air chemistry with a special emphasis on field observations using remote-sensing and balloon-borne platforms. He also has a strong interest in space weather and climate science applications, and recently spearheaded the development of an academic minor in Heliophysics and Space Weather. Clark developed the framework and curriculum for the M.S. in Integrated Scientific Applications, which includes specializations in Climate Science Applications, Weather Intelligence and Risk Management, Environmental Earth Systems Management, and Geoinformatics, and serves as the program coordinator. He is also spearheading the development of a new program, a graduate Certification in Space Weather Communication. Clark has a Ph.D. in atmospheric science from the University of Wyoming (’87) with a specialization in boundary layers and turbulence, low-level nocturnal jets, and air chemistry. He was elected Fellow of the American Meteorological Society (AMS), and member of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and Sigma Xi. Clark served as a member of AMS Council (2008-11) and completed two terms as a member of the Board of Trustees (2009-2015) of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) where he served on multiple governance committees. He is currently serving as chair of the AMS Nominating Committee. He was the recipient of the 2006 Russell L. DeSouza Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Unidata Community and the 2008 AMS Teaching Excellence Award. In 2016 he was appointed to the newly formed UCAR Advocacy for the Science Community (UASC) committee and in 2017 became co-chair. Clark has been awarded over $3.5M in extramural funding since 2005 and has involved over 150 undergraduate students in field research through this funding. Recent projects include a NASA funded DISCOVER-AQ, a study of air quality in four areas (CA, TX, CO, MD) and an NSF-funded study of Ontario Winter Lake-effect Systems (OWLeS), Plains Elevated Convection at Night (PECAN), and Student Experience in Airborne Research-Mid-Atlantic Region (SEAR-MAR), which brought the University of Wyoming King Air research aircraft to Lancaster. In addition, Clark is PI on a recent NSF-funded project with Nat’l Center Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and COMET; Synergistic Environments in Graduate and Undergraduate Education (SEGUE) in Atmospheric Instrumentation and Measurement Training. Clark was elected to the Board of Directors of the North Museum of Nature and Science and serves on the Board’s Executive and Exhibits Committees. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Lancaster County Partnership for Public Health.