Faculty profile photo

Alfred Clark, Jr.

  • Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering, Mathematics, and Biomedical Engineering

PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1963

(585) 275-4078
alfred.clarkjr@rochester.edu


Research Overview

Much of my past research was in the area of astrophysical fluid dynamics, including small-scale solar magnetic fields, sunspots, spin-up of rotating fluids, and solar rotation. My later work was in oxygen transport to tissue, including theoretical models of oxygen unloading from red cells and oxygen uptake at mitochondria. My most recent interest has been in mathematical modeling of disease transmission and epidemics. In addition I have collaborated with several groups at Rochester by supplying mathematical analyses. This work includes diffusion on membrane surfaces, transport in fuel cells, and thermal models of the transient events associated with the Pinatubo volcanic eruption.

One of my interests in recent years has been the teaching of applied mathematics to engineers, scientists, and mathematicians. Courses taught include Diffusion (ME 405), Dynamical Systems (ME 406), Fourier Series and Boundary Value Problems (ME 201/MTH 281), Complex Variables (ME 202/MTH 282), Numerical Methods (ME 211), and Ordinary Differential equations (ME 163). For several of these courses I have developed extensive software and computer examples. For those courses, the links in the list above will take you to a web site with the course materials. For the dynamical systems course, I have written a comprehensive package for integrating systems of nonlinear ordinary differential equations and for visualizing their solutions. The package is available online, and there is a link to it in reference nine on the list below.

For additional information, click here for my personal web page.

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Representative Publications

  1. Oxygen Delivery from Red Cells (A. Clark, Jr., W.J. Federspiel and P.A.A. Clark), Biophysical Journal, Vol.47, pp.171-181, 1985. 
  2. Local Oxygen Gradients Near Isolated Mitochondria (A. Clark, Jr. and P.A.A. Clark), Biophysical Journal, Vol.48, pp.931-938, 1985. 
  3. How Large is the Drop in PO2 Between Cytosol and Mitochondrion? (A. Clark Jr., P.A.A. Clark, R. J. Connett, T. E. J. Gayeski and C.R. Honig), American Journal of Physiology (Cell Physiology), Vol.252, pp.C583-C587, 1987. 
  4. A Simple Model of Aerobic Metabolism. Applications to Work Transitions in Muscle (C. Funk, A. Clark, Jr., and R.J. Connett), American Journal of Physiology (Cell Physiology), Vol.258, pp.C995-C1005, 1990. 
  5. Dynamics of Oxygen Unloading from Sickle Erythrocytes (V. B. Makhijani, G.R. Cokelet, and A. Clark, Jr.), Biophysical Journal, Vol.58, pp.1025-1052, 1990. 
  6. Oxygen Transport Issues in Photodynamic Therapy for Cancer (A. Clark, Jr., P.A.A. Clark, and T. H. Foster), Abstract, Annals of Biomedical Engineering, Vol.19, pp.558-559, 1991. 
  7. Arteriovenous O2 Diffusion Shunt is Negligible in Resting and Working Gracilis Muscles (C.R. Honig, T.E.J. Gayeski, A. Clark, Jr., and P.A. A. Clark), American Journal of Physiology (Heart and Circulatory Physiology), Vol.261, pp.H2031-H2043, 1991. 
  8. Analysis of Lateral Diffusion from a Spherical Cell Surface to a Tubular Projection (D.A. Berk, A. Clark, Jr., and R.M. Hochmuth), Biophysical Journal, Vol.61, pp.1-9, 1992. 
  9. DynPac, A Dynamical Systems Software Package Running Under Mathematica, 2003, 2008. 
  10. Thermocline Flux Exchange During the Pinatubo Event (D.H. Douglass, R.S. Knox, B.D. Pearson, and A. Clark, Jr.), Geophysical Research Letters, 33, L19711, doi:10.1029/2006GL026355, 2006. 
  11. Catalyst Utilization in the Oxygen Electrode of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell – Analytical Model and Experimental Validation ( K.C. Neyerlin, W. Gu, H.A. Gasteiger, J. Jorne, and A. Clark, Jr.), Journal Electrochemical Society, 154, B279-B287, 2007. 
  12. Membrane mobility of β2 integrins and rolling associated adhesion molecules in resting neutrophils (T.R. Gaborski, A. Clark, Jr., R.E. Waugh, and J.L. McGrath), Biophysical Journal 95, 4934-4947, 2008.

Research Interests

  • Astrophysical fluid dynamics
  • Oxygen transport
  • Disease transmission and epidemics