Clark earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Vermont in 1979,[1][2] and graduated with a doctorate in chemical engineering from Caltech in 1983,[1][3] where he was advised by James Edward Bailey.
[4] Clark joined the University of California, Berkeley faculty in 1986,[1] where he later held the Gilbert Newton Lewis Professorship, and has served as editor in chief of the scientific journal Biotechnology and Bioengineering since 1996.
[5] He is also affiliated with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, as a chemical faculty engineer.
[6] In 1995, Clark was elected a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.
[4] Clark is a 2019 member of the United States National Academy of Engineering.