Meteorologist Paul Douglas to discuss climate change Feb. 8 at SJU

Meteorologist and entrepreneur Paul Douglas will be presenting Monday, Feb. 8 at Saint John's University - come sleet or shine.

Douglas will present Faith and Climate Change: A Meteorologist's View at 7:30 p.m. in Pellegrene Auditorium, Peter Engel Science Center, SJU. Saint John's graduate and longtime MPR host Gary Eichten '69 will moderate the event, which is free and open to the public.

Douglas, currently the meteorologist for the Star Tribune newspaper and a weather blogger for the St. Cloud Times newspaper, has over 34 years of broadcast television experience and 36 years of radio experience.

From 1983-94, he was chief meteorologist at KARE-TV in the Twin Cities, where he launched the "Backyard" outdoor weather format. Douglas served at WBBM-TV in Chicago from 1994-97, before returning to the Twin Cities market as the chief meteorologist for WCCO-TV from 1997-2008. It was during his time at WCCO that he became Minnesota's first Certified Broadcast Meteorologist.

In 1989, Douglas founded the software venture Earthwatch Communications, which presented 3D weather graphics. This technology was used by filmmaker Steven Spielberg in his movies Jurassic Park and Twister.

Douglas started his career in meteorology at the age of 14 by developing a network of flood gauges that were monitored by ham operators during flash flood situations, after Tropical Storm Agnes flooded most of his home town in 1972. In 1980, Douglas graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in meteorology.

The event is part of the "On Campus with Gary Eichten" series, which enlists the talents of the award-winning host with nationally known speakers and the best of faculty members from CSB and SJU. The goal is to engage the public in key issues of our time.  

Eichten has worn many hats during his 40-plus-year career at MPR, including news director, special events producer and station manager. Eichten, who hosted the "Midday" program on MPR for over 20 years until his retirement in 2012, began his career at MPR as a student announcer at KSJR (MPR's first station), on the Saint John's campus.

This event is co-sponsored by the Nicholas and Bernice Reuter Professorship in Science and Religion, the Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement and the SJU University Chair in Critical Thinking.