Climate scientist Steve Ackerman of the University of Wisconsin-Madison will present "The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald: The Ship, the Song and the Storm" at Northern Michigan University.
The free event begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, at the Northern Center, and will also include a scene from NMU playwright Shelley Russell's Holdin' Our Own: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. It is sponsored by the NMU Chapter of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Honor Society.
Ackerman is a professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences, director of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Sciences and vice chancellor of research. He is the recipient of NASA's 2010 Exceptional Public Service Medal, the 2009 American Meteorological Society's Teaching Excellence Award and, in 2007, was recognized for his contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Ackerman also is one of the “Weather Guys,” a popular program on Wisconsin Public Radio in which a duo answers callers' questions about weather and climate. They also write a weekly column for the Wisconsin State Journal.
Sigma Xi is the Scientific Research Honor Society, whose mission is to enhance the health of the research enterprise, foster integrity in science, and promote the public's understanding of science for the purpose of improving the human condition. The goal of NMU's chapter is to bring this mission to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan by helping to foster scientific research and education.