Jenny Clack
Jenny Clack FLS | |
---|---|
Born | Jennifer Alice Agnew 3 November 1947 |
Died | 26 March 2020 | (aged 72)
Nationality | English |
Alma mater | Newcastle University (BSc, PhD) University of Leicester University of Cambridge (MA) |
Known for | Gaining Ground: the Origin and Early Evolution of Tetrapods (2002) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Zoology Palaeontology Evolutionary biology |
Institutions |
Jennifer Alice Clack,
Clack was curator at the
Early life and education
Clack was born on 3 November 1947, the only child of Ernest and Alice Agnew.
Academic career
In 1981, Clack joined the
Clack is best known for her extensive body of work on early tetrapods, much of which redefined how paleontologists conceived of the evolution of limbs and other features associated with tetrapods' transition from other lobe-finned fishes. She began her career working primarily on the ear of early tetrapods
Over the course of her lengthy career, Clack published in some of the most notable scientific journals, including Nature,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] Science,[34][35] and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences[36][37] and is one of the most published vertebrate paleontologists in Nature, arguably the leading scientific journal in the world, with over 15 papers in that journal alone. In addition to her Gaining Ground book, Clack also co-authored a volume of the Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie series on early tetrapods with Andrew Milner in 2015[38] and co-edited a volume on the evolution of hearing in 2016.[39]
Clack is probably best known for discovering that the earliest
Clack supervised many graduate students who went on to pursue successful careers in paleontology and evolutionary biology, including Per Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Paul Upchurch (University College London), Michael Lee (Flinders University), and Matthew Friedman (University of Michigan).[5] In April 2012 she was featured in an episode[41] of the BBC television series Beautiful Minds, a set of documentaries about scientists who have made important discoveries. This may be viewed on YouTube.[42] Clack was honored by her peers with a festschrift published in 2019.[5]
Year | Taxon | Authors |
---|---|---|
2020 | Rossichthys clackae gen. et sp. nov | Johanson et al.[43] |
2020 | Brittagnathus minutus gen. et sp. nov. | Ahlberg & Clack[44] |
2019 | Parmastega aelidae gen. et sp. nov.
|
Beznosov, Clack, Lukševičs, Ruta & Ahlberg[33] |
2019 | Limanichthys fraseri gen. et sp. nov. | Challands et al.[45] |
2018 | Celsiodon ahlbergi gen. et sp. nov. | Clack, Challands, Smithon & Smithson[46] |
2018 | Mesanerpeton woodi gen. et sp. nov. | Smithson & Clack[47] |
2018 | Whitropus longicalcus gen. et sp. nov. | Richards et al.[48] |
2018 | Deltodus tubineus sp. nov. | Richards et al.[48] |
2017 | Spathicephalus marsdeni sp. nov. | Smithson et al.[49] |
2016 | Perittodus apsconditus gen. et sp. nov. | Clack & Smithson[50] |
2016 | Koilops herma gen. et sp. nov. | Clack & Smithson[50] |
2016 | Ossirarus kierani gen. et sp. nov. | Clack & Smithson[50] |
2016 | Diploradus austiumensis gen. et sp. nov. | Clack & Smithson[50] |
2016 | Aytonerpeton microps gen. et sp. nov.
|
Clack & Smithson[50] |
2015 | Ctenodus williei sp. nov. | Smithson, Richards & Clack[51] |
2015 | Ctenodus whitropei sp. nov. | Smithson, Richards & Clack[51] |
2015 | Ctenodus roberti sp. nov. | Smithson, Richards & Clack[51] |
2015 | Xylognathus macrustenus gen. et sp. nov. | Smithson, Richards & Clack[51] |
2015 | Ballagadus rossi gen. et sp. nov. | Smithson, Richards & Clack[51] |
2015 | Ballagadus caustrimi sp. nov. | Smithson, Richards & Clack[51] |
2015 | Coccovedus celatus gen. et sp. nov. | Smithson, Richards & Clack[51] |
2015 | Occludus romeri gen. nov. | Smithson, Richards & Clack[51] |
2012 | Ymeria denticulata gen. et sp. nov.
|
Clack, Ahlberg, Blöm & Finney[52] |
2011 | Kirktonecta milnerae gen. et sp. nov.
|
Clack[53] |
2004 | Occidens portlocki gen. et sp. nov. | Clack & Ahlberg[54] |
2003 | Kyrinion martilli gen. et sp. nov. | Clack[55] |
2002 | Pederpes finneyae gen. et sp. nov.
|
Clack[23] |
1998 | Eucritta melanolimnetes gen. et sp. nov.
|
Clack[22] |
1993 | Silvanerpeton miripedes gen. et sp. nov.
|
Clack[56] |
Death
Clack died on 26 March 2020 at the age of 72, after a five-year battle with endometrial cancer.[57]
Honours
In 2008, Clack was awarded the
In 2009, Clack was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society,[59] the first female vertebrate paleontologist to achieve the honor.[60] She has also been elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[61]
On 15 June 2013, Clack was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science (DSc) degree by the University of Chicago. The university described her as "an internationally preeminent palaeontologist whose research has profoundly changed the understanding of the origin of terrestrial vertebrate life."[62] Also in 2013, she was awarded the T Neville George Medal by the Geological Society of Glasgow.[63]
On 17 July 2014, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by the University of Leicester.[64] Also in 2014, she was made an Honorary Foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.[65]
In 2018, she won the Palaeontological Association's most prestigious award, the Lapworth Medal.[66]
References
- ^ a b c d e "CLACK, Prof. Jennifer Alice". Who's Who 2015. Oxford University Press. November 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ^ a b Clack, Rob (6 October 2009). "Jenny Clack – Biography". The Clacks. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ^ "Congregation of the Regent House on 9 December 2000". Cambridge University Reporter. No. 5831. 13 December 2000. p. 27. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- .
- ^ ISSN 1755-6910.
- ^ "Darwin College". Cambridge University Reporter. No. 5718. 5 November 1997. p. 24. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ^ "College Notices – Darwin College". Cambridge University Reporter. No. 6396. 23 September 2015. p. 12. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ^ "Master & fellows". Darwin College, Cambridge. University of Cambridge. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ^ "Report of the General Board on Senior Academic Promotions". Cambridge University Reporter. No. 6036. 17 May 2006. p. 17.
- ISSN 0024-4082.
- ^ Coates, Michael I.; Clack, Jennifer A. (1995). "Romer's gap: Tetrapod origins and terrestriality". Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Section C. 4e série. 17: 373–388.
- ^ "Professor Jennifer Clack (Doctor of Science)". Press Office. University of Leicester. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ISSN 0031-0239.
- ^ "The TWeed project: Evolution's Missing Chapter". National Museums Scotland. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- S2CID 22421017.
- ISSN 0031-0239.
- S2CID 232149117.
- PMID 30627480.
- S2CID 4348808.
- S2CID 4340202.
- S2CID 4338219.
- ^ S2CID 204998306.
- ^ S2CID 741732.
- S2CID 4411060.
- S2CID 4414996.
- S2CID 4370488.
- S2CID 4392361.
- S2CID 4344417.
- S2CID 3127857.
- S2CID 4329395.
- S2CID 4392314.
- PMID 27602519.
- ^ S2CID 204848799.
- S2CID 82119710.
- S2CID 28461841.
- PMID 22393016.
- PMID 24573844.
- ^ "Basal Tetrapoda". Dr. Friedrich Pfeil Publishing. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- S2CID 36018536.
- S2CID 4319165.
- ^ "BBC Four - Beautiful Minds, Series 2, Professor Jenny Clack". BBC.
- ^ "Beautiful Minds: YouTube". YouTube.
- S2CID 227241079.
- PMID 32431888.
- S2CID 91623116.
- S2CID 134074159.
- S2CID 232149117.
- ^ S2CID 133929085.
- ISSN 2056-2802.
- ^ S2CID 22421017.
- ^ ISSN 1475-4983.
- .
- ^ Clack, Jennifer A. (2011). "A new microsaur from the early carboniferous (Viséan) of East Kirkton, Scotland, showing soft tissue evidence". Special Papers in Palaeontology. 29: 45–55.
- ^ Clack, Jennifer A.; Ahlberg, Erik (2004). Arratia, G.; Wilson, M.V.H.; Cloutier, R. (eds.). A new stem tetrapod from the Early Carboniferous of Northern Ireland. München: Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil. pp. 309–320.
{{cite book}}
:|work=
ignored (help) - ISSN 0008-4077.
- S2CID 130790735.
- ^ Aucott, Rachel (26 March 2020). "Professor Jenny Clack, FRS, 1947-2020". www.zoo.cam.ac.uk. Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ "Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal". National Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on 29 December 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
- S2CID 234771873.
- ^ "Jennifer Clack". Fellows Directory. The Royal Society. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ^ "Featured Scientists | Your Inner Fish | PBS". www.pbs.org. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ Koppes, Steve; Allen, Susie (15 May 2013). "University to bestow five honorary degrees at 515th Convocation". U Chicago News. The University of Chicago. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ^ "Two awards". University of Cambridge - Department of Zoology. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ "Figures from public life to be honoured by University of Leicester". University of Leicester. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ^ "Six new members elected to the Academy". 3 February 2014.
- ^ "Professor Jenny Clack awarded the Palaeontological Association's Lapworth Medal". University of Cambridge - Department of Zoology. 18 December 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2020.