Its a wild life:

1
Its a wild life

• Musings on a career of exploring the wonders of
  science and nature
• Michael Hamilton

2
Gather Around the Campfire
The campfire circle is the most democratic of
groups -Harry James
3
Once upon a time
There was a young boy who dreamed of snakes and
soldering ironsof becoming a scientist and
believing there were no boundaries
4

• a perpetual science geek with a serious interest
  in both engineering and biology

Plant Psychogalvanometer (1968)
Electric fish detector (1971)
Hummingbird detector (1972)
5
and by the summer of 72, stumbles upon a rare
opportunity
The Wilderness Protectors
In what started out as a fun summer job as a
seasonal wilderness park aid
6
"the most sublime spectacle to be found anywhere
on this earth! John Muir
that became a catalyst for life-long studies at
the intersection of wilderness conservation,
ecology and technology
7
Wilderness Science

• Doctoral Dissertation
• A Floristic Basis for the Management of Rare
  Plants and Their Communities in the San Jacinto
  Wilderness
• Ken Berg and the James Reserve
• The Cornell Conservation Biology Symposium

Graduate committee in the San Jacinto Wilderness
8
The James Reserve - coming home

• The new director
• Off the grid living
• An interesting Byte Magazine article

9
In the Shadow of Harry

• Trailfinder School
• Desert Protective Council
• San Gorgonio Wilderness
• Walking Bear
• The James Reserve

10
The Macroscope Ecology Laserisc Project
11
Computers as cameras

• Digital imaging
• Remote Sensing
• Digital Media
• Apple Computer Advanced Technology Group

12
Computers as maps the first San Jacinto
Mountains GIS
13
The Tropical Macroscope
14
The Chernobyl Project
April 26, 1986
15
(No Transcript)
16
The Conservation GIS Alliance

• By 1995 the ESRI Conservation Program has given
  to more than 1000 organizations in 60 countries.
• 1996 - The Conservation GIS Alliance is formed
• The Society for Conservation GIS is founded in
  1997

17
The Mountains Communities Firesafe Project
The real thing
Fire risk by property
The simulated fire
18
The Virtual Classroom

• Webcams and weather sensors
• K-3 science education, access to nature for
  inner-city children
• Teacher training and curriculum support
• virtual bird watchers

19
Artificial and Virtual Nature

• Serious Data attracts serious Geeks!
• Annual retreat for Southern California Artificial
  Life Exchange faculty and students
• From simulations to Robots

20
CENS and TEOS

• The Center for Embedded Networked Sensing (CENS)
• 40MM NSF funded Science and Technology Center
• Terrestrial Ecology Observing Systems (TEOS)
• Life in a Pixel

The New York Times May 2005
21
Googling the James Reserve
22
Robots in Paradise
Moorea, French Polynesia
23
The Future NEONNational Ecological Observatory
Network
24
Thanks for listening