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A little about me... Updated 03 November 2011
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From the 2010-2011 Fasti, Chaffey High School's Yearbook |
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My name is Tom James. Most of the year, I teach mathematics and astronomy at Chaffey High School in Ontario , California. I live in Upland (the city immediately north of Ontario) with my wife, Sue. Our eighteen year old daughter, Christina graduated in June from Upland High School as an honors student and member of their elite a cappella choral group, the Madrigals. Christina now attends UC Berkeley (my alma mater) with plans to major in history. We also have a married daughter, Colleen, who graduated from Westmont College in 1999, and completed her Master of Science degree and her PhD in Environmental Sciences at UC Riverside. Colleen serves as a writer and scientific consultant to several organizations and authors involved with environmental concerns and sustainability issues. Colleen's husband, Ryan Howell completed his Master of Science degree and his PhD in Behavioral Psychology at UC Riverside and now serves on the faculty of the San Francisco State University Department of Psychology. I have been a follower of Jesus for more than 30 years.
I like astronomy, camping and backpacking, playing guitar, gardening, computers and sports. I grew up in South Pasadena (the natives will assure you that it is not part of Pasadena) the oldest of five children. My mom is from Cambridge, Ohio and lives in Orange County. My dad was from Macon, Georgia, and passed away in 1998. After graduating from South Pasadena High School in 1972, I earned a bachelor's degree in Astronomy from the University of California at Berkeley . My favorite football team is the California Golden Bears (GO BEARS!) whom I follow faithfully each year (always a character building experience).
After working for fifteen years in private industry as an electronics engineer, production manager, and general manager, I entered teaching. I earned my teaching credential and a Master of Arts degree in Education from the Claremont Graduate University in 1992. Since I started teaching, I have studied chaos theory and experimented with mathematical models of dynamical systems. I have also enjoyed the opportunity to pursue research astronomy having co-published articles in the October 1994 Astrophysical Journal Supplement and June 20, 1999 Astrophysical Journal reporting research which utilized the Hubble Space Telescope in 1996.
This is my twentieth year teaching at Chaffey.
Acknowledgments of those who have helped me along the way...
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