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Shirley E. Clark, Ph.D., P.E., D.WRE Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering

School: Science, Engineering and Technology

Dr. Shirley Clark

Other Activities:

Faculty Adviser: Society of Environmental Engineering

Coordinator of First-Year Seminar

Hometown:  Born in Nashville, Tennessee, but I like to think of where I live as my hometown. Family is in St. Louis (MO) and Birmingham (AL) and my sports affilitations are there plus Boston.

Education Information:

Undergraduate: B.S. Chemical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO

Graduate: M.S. Civil Engineering (Environmental Major), University of Alabama at Birmingham

Doctorate: Ph.D., Environmental Health Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Prior to college: Wandered my way through schools in Mobile, AL, Jackson, MS and St. Louis, MO.

Recent and notable publications, awards, and honors:

“Roofing materials’ contributions to stormwater runoff pollution,” S.E. Clark, K.A. Steele, J.M. Spicher, C.Y.S. Siu, M.M. Lalor, R. Pitt, J.T. Kirby. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering. Accepted for Publication. October 2007.

“Comparison of stormwater solids analytical methods for performance evaluation of manufactured treatment devices.”S.E. Clark and R. Pitt. Journal of Environmental Engineering, To be published April 2008. 

“Measuring solids concentration in stormwater runoff: Comparison of analytical methods.”S.E. Clark and C.Y.S. Siu. Environmental Science and Technology, 42(2):511-516.

“Influencing factors and a proposed evaluation methodology for predicting groundwater contamination potential from stormwater infiltration activities.”S.E. Clark and R. Pitt. Water Environment Research. Vol. 79, No. 1, pp.  29-36. 2007.

Diplomate, American Academy of Water Resources Engineering (accepted September 2007)

My undergraduate student, Julia Hafera Spicher, won the 2006 Undergraduate Student Paper Award (1st Prize) from the Environment and Water Resources Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Favorite TV show and/or music: Football (college and pro), Baseball (National League), Law and Order, Forensic Files, News Programs (sports and news junkie). I like most music. Always open to new musical experience.

Hobbies: Sports (playing and watching) - football, baseball, soccer; visiting family; reading. Want to be a better dancer.

What is the best thing about being a professor at Penn State Harrisburg? The opportunity to interact with so many students, not just the research graduate students!

How does your research influence your teaching? I believe that people must realize the impact that their choices have on the environment. Development, where necessary, must be done responsibly. We must realize what our choices of sites and of materials have on the long-term environment. I involve the students in the research, which opens their eyes to the future of the profession, and I bring the research into the class and try to show the students where our profession is going so they don't become bogged down in only what they learned in school.

What is your favorite thing about the Harrisburg area? The bridges and the Susquehanna River! As a hydraulics and hydrology engineer, who can't love the old stone bridge work? It's amazing! Also, the Susquehanna River here is non-navigable but is still a mile wide. Wow! Also, the Susquehanna River is 90% of the freshwater in the upper Chesapeake Bay so what we do here has a tremendous impact on the Bay. And if you like crab cakes, you have to be thinking about what your impact is and what you can do to help. The basin is great to study and just to sit and watch the river go by. City Island is a great asset for this, as is Riverfront Park.

What is your favorite event on campus? Earth Day, but I'm biased. Our club, Society of Environmental Engineering, hosts the celebration each year! The job the students do is phenomenal. I'm amazed that full-time students with their class load can pull off such a great celebration at the end of the school year. We hope to raise campus awareness of the environment with each year and encourage both the students and the administration to continue to develop and grow and participate in an environmentally responsible manner. We have such tremendous opportunities to become a showcase of environmental stewardship with this campus and this area and we want to help the entire campus join in. The state capital is here with the government agencies, so we should be the environmental showcase of the Penn State system.

Why did you choose Penn State Harrisburg? I wanted a campus that would allow me to continue to appease my curiosity, somewhat, through research, but that still had a strong focus on students. I want a mix of teaching and research responsibilities. I was pleased to join forces with those who had invested in the program before me.

Do you have a favorite professor-student experience? I have so many. Every time I hear from a student after they have graduated, I know I picked the right profession. It's those contacts and the fact that the students want to keep in touch that keeps me going. I enjoy watching the students grow and learn and gain the confidence that they can succeed in their subjects and in their future.

That said, I have two memories of pride in the students that I can't resist passing along. First was in 2005. Julia Hafera (graduated with her B.S. in May 2006) presented her research at the regional stormwater symposium at Villanova University. Afterward, someone that I know in the profession came up to me and asked me when Julia was going to finish her Ph.D. This person was amazed that she was an undergraduate student.

The second was at the AWRA National Convention in Baltimore in 2006. Brett Long, my graduate student on green roofs, was presenting his research. He was approached by a local firm who saw him present. Brett told them that he wasn't graduating until December 2007. However, they were so interested in him that they interviewed him in 2006 - a full year before he graduated and months before he had planned to start looking.

Students like this and the others who aren't listed have made me successful. What can I say about students that make me look good except I'm very lucky to have worked with them? This doesn't even mention Jim, Chris, Kelly, Christine, Dan, Ruth, Aigul, etc.

If you weren’t a professor, what would you be doing? When I was younger, Olympic equestrian. I loved spending time riding horses and was willing to spend hours to perfect my riding skills. Not enough talent to be a concert pianist. I swore I'd never be a teacher. Little did I understand genetics at the time. I came from a long line of college-educated teachers. Even the women of my grandmother's generation in my family had college degrees. Amazing and inspirational!

I keep threatening my students that I am going to find a 40-hour per week job such as a parking lot attendant. I'd make more money on an hourly basis. I don't want to work in a parking garage - all that exhaust builds up and lung cancer would be a concern, besides simple asthma. Toll booth collector - same thing plus people missing the lane and hitting the toll booth. Parking lot attendant seems perfect - ask for money; ignore them when they complain about prices. However, my students have said that I wouldn't succeed there. I'd argue with the lot owner about the problems of the stormwater runoff from the parking lot. They think the bad drainage would drive me bananas.