Chris and his parents Kathleen Bergan Schmidt and Lawrence Schmidt
Biographical Overview:
- Bachelor of Arts, Physics major, Lawrence University 1997
- Master's degree, Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, UW-Madison, 2000
- Researcher at Space Science Engineering Center/Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, 2000-present day
- Program manager, Biomass Burning Team, Lead for GOES-R fire detection and characterization and ozone detection algorithms
- Democratic Party of Dane County Executive Board, Vice Chair of Communications 2007-present, representative for 76th Assembly District 2005-2007.
- Democratic Party of Wisconsin Platform and Resolutions Committee Secretary 2006-present
- Vice President of the Westmorland Neighborhood Association
- Chair, Westmorland Neighborhood Association Planning and Development Committee
- Co-Chair Midvale Heights/Westmorland Neighborhood Plan Joint Steering Committee
I grew up in Illinois, an admission which may cost me some votes but, alas, you understand I had no control over that. My early years were spent in Hoffman Estates, a Chicago suburb that came into being as a tract development just outside the boundaries of Schaumburg, home of Woodfield Mall and Ikea. Hoffman came about as an effort to avoid the taxes and restrictions of Schaumburg, but in time the two became indistinguishable and completely intertwined. 20 years ago they were the outer suburbs, and we still had farm fields and small remnant prairie plots. But at the time my family left those fields were quickly falling to urban sprawl.
For a time after Hoffman Estates we were at the old family homestead on the edge of downtown Arlington Heights. At that time urban renewal was taking off in the form of infill projects composed of 20 story apartment buildings, buildings at least 15 stories taller than anything in downtown. The character of downtown has changed rapidly since then, in many ways for the better, but the old residential homes, stately 100 year old Victorians, have been swept up in a building boom brought about by the large increases in the value of property that came with the massive buildings. The old homestead is stubbornly holding on between a 4 story condo building and whatever will go into lot next door, vacant for three years now. The economic downturn has brought a halt to the redevelopment there.
We moved to Crystal Lake in the late 80s and at the time the city was barely considered a suburb of Chicago by most people. Urban sprawl was taking root there as well, however, and with it have come large traffic and water problems, not to mention the loss of pristine prairie and wetlands. There was no planning until recently; basically every development received a rubber stamp regardless of community input. They have learned, however, that there are ill-effects to such lack of planning. It was there that I first became involved in the political process by playing a small role in raising a ruckus over a new, unnecessary tollway that would have led to the utter devastation of what little pristine environment was left. We won that fight, fortunately.
I graduated magna cum laude from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI with a Physics major in 1997. Lawrence did not have minors at the time, but if they had I would also have earned a minor in Anthropology (with particular interest in North American archaeology and ethnography). I earned my Masters at University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2000 in the field of Atmospheric Science, specifically in the sub-field of satellite meteorology. My thesis work covered ozone detection with geostationary satellites, work I continue to this day along with fire detection with those same satellites at the Space Science Engineering Center on the UW campus. My team and I have also been developing the fire detection and characterization abilities of the next generation of American weather satellites. My academic and professional careers have involved careful analysis, attention to detail, and an open mind. Getting expensive scientific projects through the federal bureaucracy takes patience and comes with the expectation that there will be disappointments. The debate and compromise necessary to succeed in that task are not unlike the legislative process.