Gertrude M. Clarke was a former educator who primarily taught high school physics and nucleonics and extensively engaged in nuclear physics research. She founded the New Jersey Business/Industry/Science Education Consortium (NJ BISEC) and served as its Executive Director from 1981 until 1999. She was also on the Board of Trustees of the
New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame
The New Jersey Inventor's Hall of Fame was established in 1987 to honor individuals and corporations in New Jersey for their inventions. Award recipients are recognized at the annual Award Banquet Dinner. The New Jersey Inventors Hall of ...
for sixteen years, and President Emeritus from 2012.
Education
Raised in
Franklin, New Jersey
Franklin is a borough in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 5,045Franklin High School and received her baccalaureate degree from
Douglass College
Douglass Residential College, is an undergraduate, non degree granting higher education program of Rutgers University-New Brunswick for women. It succeeded the liberal arts degree-granting Douglass College after it was merged with the other und ...
in 1954. Her pre-doctoral studies included radiological courses at
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
, electronics at the RCA Institute, chemistry, and physics at
Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the ...
and atomic, nuclear and solid-state physics at the
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
Graduate School.
In 1987 she received her Ph.D. from Rutgers University. Her thesis was titled "A Reassessment of Gastrointestinal Dose from a Continental United States Nuclear Weapons Test".
Career and Research
Clarke taught physics, science survey, practical chemistry and environmental science classes at Chatham High School in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. She designed a college-level course for accelerated seniors unique to the state called Nucleonics.
Clarke was a medical associate at the
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Upton, Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base and Japanese internment c ...
(BNL) and assisted in conducting research. She conducted independent research on the "''Generation of Electromagnetic Radiation by the Interaction of Charged Particle Beams Transiting Periodic Structures"'' primarily using the Rutgers University (
New Brunswick, NJ
New Brunswick is a city in and the seat of government of Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
. She also conducted experiments at the
Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology is a private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely dedicated to mechanical ...
(
Hoboken, NJ
Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 ...
) laser laboratory. In 1985 she was selected by the
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), commonly referred to as the Berkeley Lab, is a United States national laboratory that is owned by, and conducts scientific research on behalf of, the United States Department of Energy. Located in ...
(California) for a Residence in Science & Technology Program.
Starting in 1975 in
Washington, D.C.
)
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, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
she gave more than forty invitational speeches at conferences throughout the country about the need for development of industry-education partnerships. In 1995 Clarke was a panelist with the U.S. Secretary of Education, R. Riley, in a satellite TV program titled ''Perspectives on Math and Science''. Her last speech on the subject of strategies for effecting educational change at the request of the National Alliance of Business (Washington, D.C., May 1999) was titled "Employers & Educators Working Together".
In 1980 Clarke was invited to write an article titled "Teaching physics at Chatham High School" by the editor of ''
The Physics Teacher
''The Physics Teacher'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by AIP Publishing on behalf of the American Association of Physics Teachers covering the history and philosophy of physics, applied physics, physics education (curriculum dev ...
'' magazine
Clarke has presented invitational lectures at Yale, Wesleyan, Princeton Universities and other collegiate institutions on "The Use of High Energy Particle Beams as a Modality for the Treatment of Localized Cancer".
In 1981 Clarke established The New Jersey Business/Industry/Science Education Consortium (NJ BISEC), an organization dedicated to improving the teaching/learning process so that kindergarten through grade 12 New Jersey students could experience the excitement and recognize the relevance of science, mathematics, computer science and technology. Automatic Data Processing, Atlantic Electric, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, Exxon Chemical Company, Ciba Pharmaceuticals, Honeywell, Johnson & Johnson, Mobil Chemical Company, Unilever Research U.S., Merck, Public Service Electric & Gas Company, and Hoffman-LaRoche were among the many New Jersey companies enlisted so that NJ BISEC could provide competitive grants and conduct diverse training programs for teachers throughout New Jersey. In addition 13 University research laboratories, several hospitals, the State of New Jersey, and the
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...
were enlisted to contribute financial and human resources. Clarke directed the NJ BISEC for 18 years, raising millions of dollars to provide training programs designed to improve the quality of teaching. More than 1.8 million dollars for direct-award grants and stipends were given to teachers for participating in those various programs.
At the 1992 New Jersey Science Convention in Cranford, Clarke gave a talk titled "Classroom Connections with New Jersey's Science and Math Industries".
In 1994 she gave a lecture titled "Medical Applications of High Energy Charged Particles" at the annual Physics Conference and Exploratorium for High School Teachers and Students (March 16, 1994) held at
New Jersey Institute of Technology
{{Infobox university
, name = {{nowrap, New Jersey Institute of Technology
, image = New Jersey IT seal.svg
, image_upright = 0.9
, former_names = Newark College of Engineering (1930–1975)Ne ...
( Newark, NJ)
In 1996 Clarke was invited to become a board of trustees member of the
New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame
The New Jersey Inventor's Hall of Fame was established in 1987 to honor individuals and corporations in New Jersey for their inventions. Award recipients are recognized at the annual Award Banquet Dinner. The New Jersey Inventors Hall of ...
. In her capacity as president starting in 2006, she acquired a new headquarters and sponsor in Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, NJ). She re-instituted the annual black-tie awards banquet and ceremony and led funding efforts to financially stabilize the organization. With board approval she instituted the prestigious "''Trustees Award''" which recognized annually one person who has made an outstanding contribution to the inventive and/or innovative process in New Jersey. On her retirement as president of the NJIHoF she was presented by the board of trustees with the first "Outstanding Contributions Award". Clarke served as NJIHoF president from May 2006 to December 2011.
Awards and honors
In 1978 Princeton University cited Gertrude Clarke for Distinguished Secondary School Teaching in the State of New Jersey.The National Science Teachers Association citation, April 5, 1981
In 1979 Douglass College presented her with The Douglass Society Award for Distinguished Achievement.
In 1981 Clarke was presented with the Citation for Distinguished Service to Science Education Award by The National Science Teachers Association.
In 1985 Clarke was a New Jersey finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching.
In 1985 she was selected by the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (California) for a Residence in Science & Technology Program.
In 1989 Clarke received the first National Teacher Award for Community Service award. The award honored her for "her contributions to the New Jersey Business/Industry/Science Education Consortium as an outstanding teacher who has provided exemplary service and leadership in the development of the Consortium's activities". The award was presented by P. Roy Vagelos, M.D., chairman and CEO of Merck and Company and John Fowler, PhD, director of the Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education. Clarke was also cited in the local newspaper.
In 2011 Clarke received the NJIHoF Outstanding Contribution Award for her "Untiring Dedication, Contributions, Service, Leadership, and Guidance of the Organization".
In 2013 Clarke was a recipient of the 32nd annual "State of New Jersey Woman of Achievement Award" sponsored by New Jersey State Federation of Woman's Clubs of GFWC.Douglass Associate Alumnae News, Spring 2013, p.4