Professor Bryan Clarke was instrumental in the founding of the ‘Frozen Ark’ project – to save samples of frozen cells containing DNA from endangered species – the animal equivalent of the ‘Millennium Seed Bank’ created by Kew Gardens to conserve the seeds of the world’s plants.

In 1971 he was appointed Foundation Professor of Genetics at Nottingham University and remained there until his retirement in 1997.  Professor Clarke died on 27 February 2014 aged 81.

Professor Clarke was an inspiration to thousands of students and it is said, due to his research on snails, that he gave his name to the snail in The Magic Roundabout.