Steve Ackerman I'm an Associate Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; I joined the faculty in 1992. I received my Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences from Colorado State University in 1987 and came to Madison to initially work in the Space Science and Engineering Center doing research, but I knew I wanted to teach. I now teach the 100 level course, Introduction to Weather and Climate, and graduate level courses in radiative transfer theory. My research interests center around remote sensing, radiative energy budgets, cloud-radiative parameterizations, climate change, and aerosols. My interests center on understanding how changes in the radiation balance affect and are affected by changes in other climate variables such as clouds, aerosols, water vapor, and surface properties. Globally, the earth-atmosphere system is balanced by the radiative energy gained from the sun and lost through infrared emission. The geographic distribution of radiative energy is an important climate variable. A change in one climate variable inevitably results in a change in another variable. Thus, a shift in the radiation balance at the surface of the earth, top of the atmosphere, or within the atmosphere can result in a sequence of complicated changes in global climate. Currently I am actively involved in developing algorithms to study the atmosphere, using observations from new instruments to be flown on satellites launched by NASA and Japan. In the classroom, I'm guided by my passion for improvisational theater, which prompts you to think on your feet and trains you to be aware of how your message is being received. I'm also a strong proponent of technology's benefits in the classroom-I've designed and collaborated in the design of software and a number of Web sites that we use in the class and that are available for anyone to use on the Internet: http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/wxwise/class/aos100.html http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/~billh/vis5d.html http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/suomi/ In class I use computers to manipulate and display data, display observations, and show animations of weather phenomena. I first used the Web just to deliver material, now as a way to deliver interactive exercises. Feel free to try these sites out and let us know what you think! Tell me more about this activity: Student Questions Guide the Course A general description Some advice and reflections on this activity Why I like this activity Example Student Questions Course Outline More about Steve Ackerman

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