Helen E. Clark was born in Saskatchewan on February 4, 1912 and received her Bachelor of Household Science degree (1939) from the University of Saskatchewan. She taught home economics in British Columbia (1939-1942) and then received a research assistantship in nutrition at Iowa State University. Her M.S. thesis research was based on the protein quality of the egg for the growth of young rats. Her Ph.D research was directed to the amino acid requirements of adult rats. She received her Ph.D. (1950) in Nutrition from Iowa State College (University). Dr. Clark was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Foods and Nutrition at Kansas State University (1950-1954) and then Purdue University (1954-1977). There she developed a project related to the protein and amino acid requirements of humans, whether these were provided by foods alone, amino acid mixtures, or combinations of foods and amino acids.

Helen Clark was a well respected nutrition scientist and teacher. She was on the cutting edge of human metabolic research and became a leading authority on the protein and amino acid requirements of human adults, and received numerous awards for her work. She is the recipient of the Borden Award (1968), the Centennial Award of the College of Home Economics from Iowa State University (1971), the first woman to be recognized as a Distinguished Professor (Purdue, 1974), and honorary Doctor of Science (Purdue, 1994). In 1995, Dr. Clark was awarded a Distinguished Achievement Citation from the Iowa State University Alumni Association. She was named Professor Emerita of Foods and Nutrition of Purdue University after her retirement in 1977. Helen Clark died on January 3, 2001.

The collection (1939-1995, n.d.) contains biographical information, a reminiscence, correspondence, published articles, clippings, photographs, certificates, and diplomas.

The papers include correspondence and other information concerning Clark's career and her numerous awards, including the Borden Award and Schleman Award. The core of the collection is published materials which document the results of Clark's research. Included are numerous articles detailing Clark's work with the nutrition requirements of human beings and the use of dietary supplements.

Clippings and awards as well as certificates and diplomas also illustrate Clark's career and her numerous honors. Of special interest are the photographs in the collection, including images of Clark, her colleagues and graduate students, friends and family, and experiments with sorghum and soil.

The collection is arranged alphabetically.