Jonathan W. Smith


Research Assistant, GK-12 Fellow

Department of Geosciences

Oregon Climate Service

Oregon State University

316 Strand Ag. Hall

Corvallis, OR  97331         USA

(541) 737-8970

smithjw@oce.orst.edu

 

Current Endeavors:

Presently I am living in Corvallis, Oregon attending graduate school at Oregon State University as a masters candidate.  I am working at the Oregon Climate Service, on the OSU campus, as a research assistant.  My thesis research involves climate mapping of the HJ Andrews experimental forest, an old growth Long Term Ecological Research site in the central Oregon Cascade mountains.  With the help of Dr. Christopher Daly, I am attempting to create a highly accurate temperature map of the HJ Andrews forest by utilizing historical climate data and geographic information systems (GIS).  My ongoing thesis research is published on a website which can be viewed by following the link below.  I am hoping to complete my thesis by spring of 2002.

In addition to my thesis work, I am involved in teaching and science outreach activities.  I am part of a National Science Foundation grant which places graduate students in various fields of science into public schools to enhance science education, particularly with respect to female and minority students.  I taught physics and earth science at a high school in Portland, Oregon from September 2000 through March 2001.  Since September 2001 I have served as a resident scientist at an elementary school here in Corvallis.  I have worked in a local middle school, designing hands-on computer-based GIS projects for seventh and eighth graders, and have designed and taught a GIS class to fourth and fifth graders as part of Oregon State University’s Adventures in Learning Program.  I often help local Girl Scouts troops with science activities and have been involved with the Corvallis-based Science and Math Investigative Learning Experiences Program (SMILE).

 

Professional Background:    

            I graduated with a bachelors degree in Physics from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1994.  From 1992 until 1996 I was employed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research where I was involved in convective weather research.  In 1996 I entered the U.S. Peace Corps and moved to the African country of Malawi for two years.  While in Malawi I worked in a rural secondary school, teaching physics, chemistry, mathematics, and geography.  After returning to the United States I entered the graduate school at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon as a masters candidate in the Department of Geosciences.  Currently I am in my third and final year at the university.

 

Click here to view my current resume.

 

Personal:

            While working in the Peace Corps I met a beautiful woman who I recently married.  I enjoy painting, making pottery, cross-country skiing, playing guitar, reading, writing, traveling, backpacking, fishing, and alpine mountaineering. I am not the quarterback of the OSU football team. 

 


Questions or comments?  Send me email at smithjw@oce.orst.edu.


Links of Interest:

Thesis Website

Oregon Climate Service

Oregon State University

HJ Andrews Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Site

National Center for Atmospheric Research

National Weather Service

Latest Oregon Weather Forecasts

Western Regional Climate Center

U.S. Peace Corps

Up-to-date Africa News

World Factbook Online

Oregon State University Football


This site was last updated on January 25, 2002.