Dave is a science teacher at Okemos High School and on the Michigan Committee for Severe Weather Awareness represents the Michigan Earth Science Teachers Association. [More information on MESTA available at their web site: http://www.mestarocks.org ]
For at least 14 years he has taught about severe weather in his classroom . . . as well as in workshops and classes for teachers. In addition, Dave mentors teachers in courses offered on-line by the American Meteorological Society: DataStreme Atmosphere: DataStreme Ocean; and Water in the Earth System. [Find out about AMS course at http://www.ametsoc.org/amsedu/index.html ] Since 2006 he has been a member of the national AMS Board on Outreach & Pre-college Education
Dave has written original teaching activities about El Nino, safe shelter from tornadoes, flood risk, interpreting weather in art, and weather folk lore. In cooperation with Mark Walton (National Weather Service hydrologist in Grand Rapids, Michigan), he has created an inexpensive device for students to determine frost depth (an important condition in predicting the chance of flooding). They also have built a large plexiglas model that students can use to investigate how different conditions affect the risk of flooding. In he summer of 2007 Dave worked on the Michigan Department of Education document that clarifies the new state high school standards for Earth Science, including those dealing with weather and climate.