Bunny Clark
Dr. Bunny Clark (1935-2015) joined The Ohio State University in 1981 as a faculty member for the university’s physics department, eventually becoming a professor in 1986. Throughout her time at Ohio State, she was a tireless advocate for women in physics. She was part of the inaugural President’s Commission on Women and served as chair of the American Physical Society (APS) Committee on the Status of Women in Physics and as a member of the APS Committee on Minorities. Clark published dozens of papers throughout her life, made many successful contributions to her field of nuclear theoretical physics.
Clark’s main passion was mentoring students and faculty. Clark and her husband created the Bunny and Thomas Clark Scholarship Endowment Fund, which awards scholarships to both undergraduate and graduate students with a concerted effort to recognize high standards and achievement among female undergraduate physics and engineering physics majors.
Her many honors included being awarded Distinguished University Professor, Ohio State’s highest honor for a faculty member. She was also an American Physical Society Fellow and a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow. Clark received the Fowler Award for Excellence in Nuclear Physics from the Ohio Section of the American Physical Society in 1999. She was also member of the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame. Clark retired from Ohio State in 2007 and passed away in October 2015.
“Bunny, as in rabbit.”
A common response when introducing herself, Dr. Bunny Clark wasn’t just out of the ordinary when it came to her uncommon first name. Clark, before becoming a well-known and respected professor in the Department of Physics — renowned for her research in theoretical physics — also stood out as a woman in a field previously led by men.
“Physics was not supposed to be women's work,” Clark said in her 2001 commencement address to Ohio State graduates.
However, I figured that intelligence was not linked to the Y chromosome.”
Born and raised in Texas, Clark represents the hard work, determination and unwavering persistence required to make it as a female physicist during her education and career. She received her bachelor’s degree in 1958 and master’s degree in 1963 — both in physics — from Kansas State University and eventually, her PhD in theoretical physics in 1973 from Wayne State University. Clark published dozens of papers throughout her life, made wildly successful contributions to her field of nuclear theoretical physics, headed countless committees on science and physics, and was continuously a pioneer for women and minorities in science. Clark retired in 2007 and passed away in October 2015.
Outside of the incredible work and research she completed throughout her long career, Clark’s main passion was mentoring students and faculty in all stages of their education and careers — whether aiding financially, or providing one-on-one mentorship, Clark never turned down the opportunity to help others.
Years before her retirement, Clark and her husband, Tom, established the Bunny and Thomas Clark Scholarship Endowment Fund, which awarded scholarships to both undergraduate and graduate students, with a focus on women and minorities.
But the scope of Clark’s generosity ranged much further than creating her own scholarship fund. If someone needed something, anything, she was always there to help.
“If our students needed a refrigerator in their room, she bought them a refrigerator,” said Robert Perry, professor and vice chair of undergraduate studies in the Department of Physics. “She used her money to support people in whatever way seemed necessary if it wasn’t something you could get from the grant or department.”