James F. Petersen is Professor of Geography at Southwest Texas State University, in San Marcos, Texas. He is a broadly trained physical geographer with strong interests in geomorphology and Earth Science education. He enjoys writing about topics relating to physical geography for the public, particularly environmental interpretation, and has written a landform guidebook for Enchanted Rock State Natural Area in Central Texas, as well as several field guides. He is a strong supporter of geographic education, having served as president of the National Council for Geographic education in 2000 after more than 15 years of service to that organization. He also has written or served as a senior… consultant for nationally published educational materials at levels from middle school through university, and he has done many workshops for geography teachers. Most recently, he co-edited a volume of the journal Geomorphology, a collection of papers dealing with education in geomorphology that represented the proceedings from the Binghamton Geomorphology Symposium. Two other recent works include the opening chapter for a book on the environmental history of San Antonio, published by the University of Pittsburgh Press, and the role of field methods in geography education in the United States, for an international volume on the topic. He is the co-author of Essentials of Physical Geography, 8th Edition and Physical Geography, 9th Edition (both by Brooks/Cole.)
L. Michael Trapasso is Professor of Geography at Western Kentucky University, as well as director of the College Heights Weather Station and a research associate with the Kentucky Climate Center. His research interests include human biometeorology, forensic meteorology, and environmental perception. In 1986, he received the Ogden College Faculty Excellence Award. He also has received Fulbright and Malone Fellowships to conduct research in various countries through time. His explorations have extended to all seven continents of the globe, and he has subsequently written and lectured extensively on these travels. His educational publications include laboratory exercises for EXPERIENCES IN… PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY (1980, Duxbury Press), a chapter for CLIMATOLOGY: SELECTED APPLICATIONS (1981, Arnold Publishing), and several entries for the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CLIMATOLOGY (1987, Van Nostrand/Reinhold Publishing), the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HYDROLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES (1997, Chapman Hall Publishing), and the upcoming ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WORLD CLIMATES (in press, Kluwer Publishing). In addition to his publications and lectures, he has written and narrated educational television programming concerning weather and climate for the Kentucky Educational Television (KET) Network, and WKYU-TV 24, Western Kentucky University Television.