Applications include waste treatment and traditional chemical processes as well as bioseparations. Another research area for Professor Clark is that of efficient teaching and learning. Multimedia learning tools are being developed and evaluated with regards to student learning, student satisfaction, and faculty and staff time requirements. A new sophomore curriculum that emphasizes integration of material, active and cooperative learning, and use of technology to enhance learning is being developed, implemented, and evaluated. Prof. Clark and his students have developed an enhanced extraction process that is perhaps best described as two-phase electrophoresis.
Current studies focus on recovery of protein from fermentation processes.
Positively charged protein is directed, by an applied electric field, into one phase of a two-phase system while negatively charged cell debris, endotoxin, nucleic acid, and contaminating protein are directed into the other phase. Once fully developed, two-phase electrophoresis may prove useful as an alternative to filtration, centrifugation, or expanded bed chromatography for the cell debris removal step in downstream processing of biological products. Due to their mechanical strength and chemical and temperature resistance, inorganic membranes made of alumina, zirconia, carbon or stainless steel are emerging as alternatives to polymeric membranes for some applications. Studies are conducted to evaluate and optimize the performance of these membranes for bioseparations. Projects range from a fundamental study of protein adsorption and fouling to applied studies of product recovery from fermentation broth.