William Carlisle Thacker

Carlisle's office was near mine when I first started at the NOAA AOML Lab on Virginia Key in 2005. His magisterial intelligence, love of jazz, interest in Eastern philosophy and practice, knowledge of theoretical mathematics, and just his whimsical personality were an amazing change from work cultures I had been exposed to up to that point. Carlisle helped me adjust to a very new environment just by being who he was, and I will always be grateful for that.

I was a classmate of Carlisle at Savannah High School (he was one year ahead of me), and we had many interesting scientific, mathematical, and philosophical conversations. I renewed my contact with him when I started spending winters in Miami beginning 2014. We continued our high-level conversations, usually at a restaurant or cafe. I really enjoyed his impressive expertise and subtle humor. The photo is at my residence in Coral Gables in 2017.