The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald: Badger Talk
This is a free, in-person talk hosted on July 23, 2026, at 5:30 PM by Sparta Free Library in Sparta, WI. No registration is necessary for this event. This talk will not be held virtually.
We explore the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald from the perspectives of the weather, the ship, and the song by Gordon Lightfoot.
Steve Ackerman moved to Wisconsin in 1987, accepting a research scientist position in the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC). He joined the UW-Madison faculty in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences in 1992. Professor Ackerman served as Director of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) from 1999-2019. This research organization is a collaboration between the UW-Madison, and The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Wisconsin is widely recognized as the birth place of weather satellites, and CIMSS is key to Wisconsin’s current reputation.
