Leland Clark

Key takeaways

Leland Clark belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Leland Clark to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Leland Clark from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Leland C. Clark Jr. (December 4, 1918 – September 25, 2005) was an American biochemist born in Rochester, New York. He is most well known as the inventor of the Clark electrode, a device used for measuring oxygen in blood, water and other liquids. Clark is considered the "father of biosensors", and the modern-day glucose sensor used daily by millions of diabetics is based on his research. He conducted pioneering research on heart-lung machines in the 1940s and '50s and was holder of more than 25 patents. Although he developed a fluorocarbon-based liquid that could be breathed successfully by mice in place of air, his lifelong goal of developing artificial blood remained unfulfilled at the time of his death. He is the inventor of Oxycyte, a third-generation perfluorocarbon (PFC) therapeutic oxygen carrier designed to enhance oxygen delivery to damaged tissues.

Professional life Clark received his B.S. degree in chemistry from Antioch College in 1941 and his Ph.D. in biochemistry and physiology from the University of Rochester in 1944. Clark began his professional career as an assistant professor of biochemistry at his alma mater, Antioch College, in Yellow Springs, Ohio. When he left Antioch in 1958, he was head of the department. From 1955 to 1958, he held a simultaneous appointment the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine as a Senior Research Associate in Pediatrics and Surgery. In 1958, Clark moved to Alabama to join the Department of Surgery, University of Alabama Medical College as an associate professor of biochemistry. He later became professor of biochemistry in the same department. In 1962, he invented the first biosensor with Champ Lyons. Clark later became professor of research pediatrics at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Research Foundation in 1968 and remained there until he retired in 1991. Afterwards, he helped to found the company Synthetic Blood International, now known as Oxygen Biotherapeutics, Inc., which markets his invention Oxycyte. Other Clark inventions were put into production and marketed by Yellow Springs Instrument Company. He was a founding member of the Editorial Board of the scientific journal Biosensors & Bioelectronics in 1985.

Personal life Clark was known as "Lee" to his friends. He met Eleanor Wyckoff while an undergraduate student at Antioch and they were married in 1939. She assisted him in his research throughout his career. They had four daughters.

Honors and awards Dr. Clark received the following recognition for his work: National Research Council Fellowship (1941). NIH Research Career Award (1962). Distinguished Lecturer Award, American College of Chest Physicians (1975). Honorary Doctor of Science, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry (1984). Horace Mann Award for Service to Humanity, Antioch College (1984). Heyrovsky Award in Recognition of the Invention of the Membrane-Covered Polarographic Oxygen Electrode (1985). American Association for Clinical Chemistry Award for Outstanding Contributions to Clinical Chemistry (1989). American Heart Association Samuel Kaplan Visionary Award (1991). Enshrinement into the Engineering and Science Hall of Fame (1991). Pharmacia Biosensor’s Sensational Contributions to the Advancement of Biosensor Technology Award (1992). Daniel Drake Award for Outstanding Achievements in Research, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine (1993). Elected to the National Academy of Engineering (1995). National Academy of Engineering Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize (2005).

Selected publications Clark, L.C., Wolf, R., Granger, D., Taylor, Z. (1953). Continuous recording of blood oxygen tensions by polarography. Journal of Applied Physiology, 6: 189-193. Clark, L.C., Gollan, F. (1966). Survival of mammals breathing organic liquids equilibrated with oxygen at atmospheric pressure. Science, 152:1755–1756.

References

External links

Clark Oxygen Electrode, presursor to today's modern biosensors at the Wayback Machine (archived November 20, 2008) Memorial Tributes: National Academy of Engineering, Volume 11 (2007) p. 58 Leland Clark at Institute of Chemistry, Hebrew University of Jerusalem at the Wayback Machine (archived April 8, 2009) Oxygen Biotherapeutics, Inc. website

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Leland Clark

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Leland Clark claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Leland Clark before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Leland Clark ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Leland Clark

In research: Leland Clark appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Leland Clark in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Leland Clark is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1918 births, 2005 deaths, 20th-century American chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Leland Clark outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Leland Clark in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Leland Clark means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Leland Clark out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Leland Clark in simple terms?

Leland C. Clark Jr.

Why does Leland Clark matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Leland Clark?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Leland Clark.