Profile

Steven Ackerman

Professor

Bio

Ackerman’s research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies ( CIMSS), where he is director, has produced new methodologies for interpreting satellite observations of clouds, enhancing Wisconsin’s reputation as the birthplace of satellite meteorology. An internationally prominent institute with over 130 scientists and graduate students, CIMSS works with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to analyze satellite observations to improve weather and climate forecasting. In addition to his involvement in UW-Madison campus programs on teaching and learning, Ackerman has collaborated on the development of engaging online learning tools, co-wrote an award-winning textbook on introductory weather and climate concepts, and published a number of papers and popular science articles on weather and climate. The Wisconsin Weather Stories project for K-12 students, developed to generate interest in the science and folklore of weather, garnered acclaim in the form of the 2005 Dorothy Howard Prize for Folklore and Education. Ackerman can be found discussing weather and climate issues as one of the “Weather Guys” on air at Wisconsin Public Radio and in the pages of the Wisconsin State Journal. Ackerman received NASA’s Exceptional Public Service Medal in 2010, the American Meteorological Society’s Teaching Excellence Award in 2009, and in 2007 was recognized for his contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was awarded the Nobel Prize that same year.