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Mr. Clyde F.E. Roper has worked as a zoologist at the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History since 1966. A marine and deep-sea biologist, he is a world-renowned expert on squids and octopuses (cephalopods) including the giant squid, a specimen of which highlights an exhibit at the Museum of Natural History.
Mr. Roper's research in the deep sea pioneered behavioral aspects of bioluminescence in midwater squids, revealed habitats and distributions and defined unique anatomical characteristics. These studies, as well as his other broad-reaching research, are conducted from surface research ships, submersibles and scuba diving. He has explored and conducted research on cephalopods in virtually every marine habitat, from tropical coral reefs to frigid Antarctic seas, from the sunlit surface waters to the icy blackness of the deep sea. Roper's research and exploration have resulted in 150 research publications and books, several television documentaries and films, many hundreds of academic lectures, school programs, study tours, public presentations, web sites and exhibitions. Through Smithsonian educational programs, adjunct professorships at universities and ad hoc affiliations with undergraduate and graduate schools, Roper has trained scores of students in marine science and cephalopod biology.
A strong advocate for public understanding of the oceans, Mr. Roper uses the giant squid as an icon to introduce people to Inner Space, the deep sea. He further engages people to discover about the oceans (and themselves) by teaching squid and octopus cooking classes as well as squid dissection classes.
Mr. Roper's contributions to marine science and education have been recognized by several organizations including an Honorary Doctorate from Transylvania University (1997), a Fellow in the Explorers Club (2000), Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society (1998), the Lifetime Achievement Award by peers in the Cephalopod International Advisory Council (2000) of which he was a founding member, and the Earthwatch Institute Film Award (2001). He is Zoologist Emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution (2002). Roper serves on advisory boards for a number of national and international marine research and educational institutions, e.g., Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium (Sarasota, FL), Humboldt Field Station (Maine), Citizens for a Seacoast Aquarium (Portsmouth, NH), Smithsonian Marine Station (Florida).
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