About
I am a retired Professor of Botany. My professional interests span Botany, Ecology, Computer Science, and Cartography. I have a particular focus on the quantitative tools used across these disciplines. That interest is reflected in the documents and tools I’ve been developing throughout my career and into retirement.
These days, my technical work falls into two linked camps: R language programming and AI. I use AI within my R workflows and R to wrangle data that feeds AI applications. I’m a data wonk; nuff said.
That quantitative impulse extends into creative territory. I’ve been using AI to generate realistic artworks and to help write long-form documents. These are places where computation and aesthetics meet. It’s an amazing intersection.
Photography is a thread that runs through everything. I have a particular focus on birds. In particular, hummingbirds have been a challenge. On the road, my camera also becomes a travel journal. I’m often combining images from high-end gear with cell-phone photography, treating both kinds of images seriously.
Travel has been an important element in both my professional career and personal life. Now that I’m retired, Nancy and I enjoy going to places and staying longer. We’re also revisiting many of our favorite regions for a deeper, more unhurried understanding of the place.
Our home base is Hawai`i. We do, indeed, watch the sun set into the ocean or behind the mountains every evening.
