December 16, 2022
December 16, 2022
I was a lecturer at the Dept. of Earth Science for several years, and it was always a pleasure to run into Ed. It was obvious that he had things to do, and sometimes his answers were a bit curt, but he always acknowledged an email I had sent or a question I had asked. When I was new to Santa Barbara, friends had clipped newspaper articles from a column in the Santa Barbara News Press for me where he described facets of the local geology. As a transplant, those vignettes helped me getting an understanding of the geologic framework I lived in. To my chagrin, Ed eventually stopped writing that column, but luckily, his book, Santa Barbara – Land of Dynamic Beauty, came out for me to delve into. By the way, it speaks of Ed Keller’s generous spirit and attitude towards education, that he gave the PDF version of this book away after the hard copies had sold out. (I am proud to say that I have a signed hard copy.)
In 2014, I developed an online version of a course on Geologic Catastrophes and chose Ed’s book Natural Hazards as the textbook for the class. I took advantage of having the author close-by and asked if I could make a short video with him to share with the students. Of course, Ed agreed. I crouched down in front of his desk with my old smart phone and just let him talk. If you know Ed, then you are aware that he was very good at formulating complete sentences and paragraphs, without any um’s or uh’s.
I watched that video again when I learned of Ed Keller’s death, which occurred a few weeks before hurricane Ian tore through Florida, and rediscovered his mentioning of these powerful storms. In hind side, this 40-second clip confirms that Ed absolutely knew what he was talking and writing about. Watch for yourself: https://youtu.be/JDsf85YKhQ0
I always had a great deal of respect for Ed Keller, and he will be remembered for linking and recognizing the beauty as well as the forces that shape our land.
In 2014, I developed an online version of a course on Geologic Catastrophes and chose Ed’s book Natural Hazards as the textbook for the class. I took advantage of having the author close-by and asked if I could make a short video with him to share with the students. Of course, Ed agreed. I crouched down in front of his desk with my old smart phone and just let him talk. If you know Ed, then you are aware that he was very good at formulating complete sentences and paragraphs, without any um’s or uh’s.
I watched that video again when I learned of Ed Keller’s death, which occurred a few weeks before hurricane Ian tore through Florida, and rediscovered his mentioning of these powerful storms. In hind side, this 40-second clip confirms that Ed absolutely knew what he was talking and writing about. Watch for yourself: https://youtu.be/JDsf85YKhQ0
I always had a great deal of respect for Ed Keller, and he will be remembered for linking and recognizing the beauty as well as the forces that shape our land.