Tamara Shapiro Ledley

Dr. Tamara Shapiro Ledley, a senior scientist at TERC, received her PhD from MIT in 1983. She conducted a research program in Earth system science with an emphasis on the polar regions at Rice University for 15 years, and has authored over 30 scientific papers. The focus of her research has been to understand the role of sea ice and continental ice sheets in shaping global climate. Using energy balance climate and dynamic ice flow models she examined the impact of sea ice on the exchange of energy between the ocean and the atmosphere, the implications of changes in the sea ice cover for local and global climate, and the mechanisms that produced the growth and decay of ice sheets that define the 100,000 year ice age cycle.

Dr. Ledley has been involved in Earth system science education activities that include developing museum exhibits that bring near real time images of the Earth to the public, directing teacher training programs in the Earth sciences, developing Earth system science learning activities for the GLOBE program, and developing scientific research programs for the participation of students. Most recently she has been involved in a number of projects that focus on the national digital library efforts and the facilitation of the use of Earth science data in educational contexts. Dr. Ledley received NSF National Science Digital Library (NSDL, www.nsdl.org) grants to develop the Earth Exploration Toolbook (EET, serc.carleton.edu/eet) which is a resource that provides step-by-step instructions for the use of an Earth science dataset and data analysis tool by teachers in the classroom; and to run innovative professional development workshops focused on specific datasets and analysis tools in the EET. She has also received NSF grants to lead the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) Data Services and AccessData (serc.carleton.edu/usingdata/accessdata) projects that focus on bridging the communication gap scientific and educational communities to make more Earth science datasets accessible and available to teachers and students; and the Tools for Data Analysis in the Middle School Classroom (DataTools, serc.carleton.edu/eet/msdatatools) project that facilitates middle school teachers learning and adapting IT tools and Earth science data for use in the classroom.

Dr. Ledley is currently chair of the Standing Committee for Education, and has served as Vice-President for the Federation of Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP Federation, www.esipfed.org), and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation of Earth Science for the ESIP Federation. She has also served as the chair of the Committee on Global and Environmental Change of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and chair of the panel to draft the original AGU position statement on Climate Change and Greenhouse Gases.

Positions

• TERC, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Senior Scientist, 1997-present
  
• Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Visiting Scientist, 1997-98
  
• Department of Space Physics and Astronomy and the Earth Systems and The Energy and Environmental Systems Institute, Rice University. Houston, Texas, 1983-98, Senior Faculty Fellow (1990-98), Assistant Research Scientist (1985-1990), Research Associate (1983-1985), Lecturer on Space Physics & Astro. (Spring 1990 & 1991)
  
• Department of Mathematics and Sciences, Babson College, Babson Park, Massachusetts, Lecturer, Spring 1997
  
• Department of Meteorology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, Associate Research Scientist, 1995-1996
  
• Department of Geology and Geophysics, Rice University, Houston, Texas Spring 1993, Visiting Lecturer in Geology and Geophysics
  

Editorships and Associations

• Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 1993-1996, Associate Editor
  
• AAAS Electorate Nominating Committee 1995-1998
  
• AGU, Committee on Global Environmental Change: 1993-2000, Chair 1996-2000
  
• AGU, Public Information Committee: 2000-2002
  
• Chair of AGU Panel on Global Change and Greenhouse Gases: 1998-1999
  
• Federation of Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP Federation): 1998-present
  
• Vice President, 2004-2006
  
• Chair, Standing Committee for Education, 2002-2004, 2006-present
• Vice Chair, Standing Committee on Community Engagement, 2000-2002
• Lead, Education Cluster, 2000-2002
  
• Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE): 2000—2007
  
• DLESE Management Council—Member—2003-2006
  
• DLESE Data Services and AccessData PI, 2003-present
  
• Planning Committee for DLESE Annual Meeting
  
• Chair 2002-2003, Program sub-committee chair 2001-2002, Member 2003-2004
  
• Collections and Dataset Working Groups—2001-2003
  

Current Major Projects

"Enhancing Use of Data in Education: Bridging the Scientific and Educational Communities", National Science Foundation" - "AccessData", NSF, Principle Investigator

"Expanding the Data Cycle: Empowering Middle Level Teachers and Students to Integrate Information Technology, Data Skills, and Science Content" - "DataTools", NSF-ITEST, Principle Investigator

"Earth Exploration Toolbook Workshops to Facilitate the Use of Earth Science Data in Education", NSF-NSDL, co-Principle Investigator

Selected Publications

Click here for full list of publications

Ledley, T.S., A. Prakash, C.A. Manduca, and S. Fox, "Recommendations for Making Geoscience Data Accessible and Usable in Education" EOS, v89, n32, p291, August 5, 2008, http://www.agu.org/journals/eo/eo0832/2008EO320003.pdf#anchor.

Ledley, T.S., L. Dahlman, C. McAuliffe, N. Haddad, The Earth Exploration Toolbook: Facilitating Access to Scientific Data and Tools, Journal of Geoscience Education, 54 n.3, 223-229, 2006.

Ledley, T.S., L Dahlman, B. Domenico, and M.R. Taber, "Facilitating the Effective Use of Earth Science Data in Education through Digital Libraries: Bridging the Gap between Scientists and Educators" , IEEE Technical Committee on Digital Libraries Bulletin, v 2, no 1, http://www.ieee-tcdl.org/Bulletin/v2n1/ledley/ledley.html, 2005.

Ledley, T.S., C. McAuliffe, L. Dahlman, Earth Exploration Toolbook: Educational Uses of Earth System Science Datasets and Tools, ), Focus on Earth Science; NSDL as a Research Tool, Project Kaleidoscope Volume IV: What Works, What Matters, What Lasts, http://www.pkal.org/template2.cfm?c_id=1413, August 27, 2004.

Ledley, T.S., N. Haddad, J. Lockwood, D. Brooks, Developing Meaningful Student-Teacher-Scientist Partnerships, Journal of Geoscience Education, 51, 91-95, 2003.

Ledley, T.S., Energy Balance Model: Surface, Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences, Elsevier Science Ltd, London, 747-754, 2003.

Ledley, T.S., E.T. Sundquist, S.E. Schwartz, D.K. Hall, T.L. Killeen, and J.D. Fellows, Climate Change and Greenhouse Gases, EOS, 80, 453-454 & 457-458, 1999.

Ledley, T.S. and Z. Huang, A Possible ENSO Signal in the Ross Sea, Geophysical Research Letters, 24, 3253-3256, 1997.

Ledley, T.S. & S. Chu, The Initiation of Ice Sheet Growth, Milankovitch Solar Radiation Variations, and the 100 KYR Ice Age Cycle, Climate Dynamics, 11, 439-445, 1995.

Ledley, T.S., Summer Solstice Solar Radiation, the 100 KYR Ice Age Cycle, and the Next Ice Age, Geophysical Research Letters, 22, 2745-2748, 1995.

Ledley, T.S. and S. Chu, Global Warming and the Growth of Ice Sheets, Climate Dynamics, 9, 213-219, 1994.