Eugenie Clark was a pioneering marine biologist who spent her career working tirelessly to change public perception about sharks — as well as to preserve marine environments around theA prolific scientist animated by an unyielding sense of curiosity, Clark (1922-2015) carried out groundbreaking experiments and more than 200 expeditions across the globe. She demonstrated that lemon sharks could be trained to do complex tasks, disproved the notion that some shark species must keep swimming in order to survive, and debunked myths about sharks as vicious, fearsome creatures.

Clark was a pioneer in the era when scuba emerged as a research tool and later took more than 70 trips in high-tech submersibles, sometimes as deep as 12,000 feet beneath the ocean surface — something that has still been done by only a small number of other marine biologists.

For her contributions to marine science, she received the Franklin L. Burr Award from the National Geographic Society, the Explorers Club Medal, and the Medal of Excellence from the American Society of Oceanographers, among numerous other recognitions. In 2015, she was honored posthumously by the U.S. Congress. In 2018, a newly discovered species of dogfish shark found in the Gulf of Mexico was named Squalus clarkae in her honor.