Ted Eckmann, UCSB Geography Department
 
Teaching and Awards:
GEOG 3A: Oceanic and Atmospheric Processes Summer 2008, Summer 2006, Fall 2005, Summer 2005, Fall 2003
GEOG 3B: Land, Water, and Life Summer 2004, Winter 2004
GEOG 14: Multimedia Production Using Maps and Images Spring 2007, Spring 2006
GEOG 102 & 202: Environmental Optics and Remote Sensing Winter 2006, Winter 2005
GEOG 104: Physical Oceanography Fall 2004
GEOG 115A: Remote Sensing: The Earth From Above Fall 2007
GEOG 133: Tropical Meteorology Spring 2005
GEOG 166: Physical Climatology Spring 2004

> UCSB Geography Department's Excellence in Teaching Award (2004-2005)

> Campus-Wide Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award from UCSB’s Graduate Students Association (2005-2006)

> Campus-Wide Outstanding Teaching Award from UCSB’s Residence Halls Association & Office of Residential Life (2006-2007)


E-mail: ted@geog.ucsb.edu
Office Hours: I should be free to chat anytime I'm in my office (Ellison Hall 6716), or if I'm not there, just e-mail me to set up a time to meet.

I'm now in my fifth year of grad school in UC Santa Barbara's Geography Department, pursuing a PhD. My dissertation research focuses on measuring subpixel fire sizes and temperatures to improve global monitoring and understanding of fires, using data from multiple satellites. Results from this research could help to reduce some hazards that fires pose to property and health, and improve scientific understanding of gas and aerosol emissions, ecosystem disturbance, and land-cover change due to fires. I've been awarded a NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship to support this research.

I've also done some research on applying remote sensing of aerosols to improve forecasts of fog and visibility. My Master's thesis, completed in June 2005, explored this concept.

My broader interests include everything (that's why I'm studying geography). I particularly like cirrus clouds, good music, teaching, and sitting outside on nice days. I have a page of links to weather products so you can see when it will be a nice day to sit outside, and MODIS images centered on UCSB from nice days in the past.
 

See the UC Santa Barbara Geography Department's ranking,
according to PhDs.org and the National Research Council

See a photo of me kayaking on a GEOG 3B trip to Santa Cruz Island.


 

MY RECENT PHOTO GALLERIES:

 

Ted's travels in Alaska, Yukon Territory, and British Columbia

In addition to my photos, some geographic comparisons describe these areas well: Denali National Park and Preserve is larger than Massachusetts; Yukon Territory is larger than California, but has a population of only ~30,000 (California's population is ~30,000,000).



Coastal Fog and Stratus in Southern California

Fog is fun to watch: it rolls and spins in turbulent eddies, drifting silently across the landscape, swirling around topography, often evaporating as quickly and mysteriously as it arrives.



Ted's travels in Hawai'i and O'ahu

In May, 2003, I explored the Mauna Kea Observatory, tossed various objects into lava streams at Volcanoes National Park, and visited a few beaches and waterfalls. Hawai'i is a great place to study physical geography. Read about my visit to Volcanoes National Park.



The University of Washington

This is the most beautiful university campus I've ever seen. I was accepted to the graduate program in geography at the University of Washington, along with several other universities, but I chose UC Santa Barbara instead because it seemed to be the best fit for me, academically.

 

 

OTHER CREATIONS:



See a larger version of this image.


The Sun Never Sets on the British Empire

I created this in Photoshop. I've always liked that saying about how "The sun never sets on the British Empire," which probably made the most sense when the British Empire controlled at least one colony in all twenty-four time zones on Earth. However, to be more accurate, that really means that the sun is ALWAYS setting on the British Empire. I managed to tile that entire landscape using the albums of only five prolific British bands: The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Who, Led Zeppelin, and The Rolling Stones. I own almost every album pictured above, along with over 2,500 other CDs, not one of which is from mp3 (I'm an audiophile so I don't like mp3s because I think they sound bad).
 




See a larger version of this image.

Petri (a cat)

I also like to draw.
 

GEOGRAPHY AND FIRE:

I grew up in San Diego, spending the first eighteen years of my life in a community called "Scripps Ranch." The "Cedar Fire" of October, 2003, spread through Scripps Ranch, destroying over 300 homes. Here are hundreds of photos taken by Scripps Ranch residents during, and after, the fire:

http://www.scrippsranch.org/special/fire_address_list.asp

http://www.scrippsranch.org/special/fire_gallery.asp

 

Ted uses and recommends the following equipment:


Amplifiers by Ampeg:

Bass guitars by
Carvin and Jackson:

Ted's Carvin bass:

Home-audio and components by Denon, JBL, and Polk Audio:

 

    

 

Copyright 2008 by Ted Eckmann
ted@geog.ucsb.edu

UCSB Geography Department Website