AccuWeather.com

By Kirstie Hettinga, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

Jul 11, 2010; 11:00 AM ET

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AccuWeather.com founder Dr. Joel N. Myers will be part of a panel on private sector meteorology during Penn State's meteorology program's 75th anniversary celebration.

"Penn State really helped me launch... the company that became AccuWeather," - Dr. Joel N. Myers

The Penn State meteorology program will celebrate its 75th anniversary, this weekend.

Dr. John Nese, who is coordinating the celebration, said alumni from as far back as the 1950s have registered to attend.

In its 75-year history, the program has seen almost 3,800 students graduate with bachelor's degrees, master's degrees and doctorates.

Nese estimates that Penn State is responsible for about 15 percent of all bachelor's of science degrees in meteorology granted each year. With that statistic, he said Penn State graduates are prominent throughout the National Weather Service, in academia, and in the public spotlight.

"We have at least 100 Penn State-degreed meteorologists doing TV weather somewhere in the country," Nese said. "It's the folks who have taken on leadership roles that really make the department stand out," he said.

Examples of leaders in the field of meteorology include Ray Ban, Doug Kruhoeffer, Dr. Warren Washington and AccuWeather, Inc. founder Dr. Joel N. Myers.

Myers said, "It's exciting to be part of it, and see the department come so far over all these years." Myers estimates that through his teaching at Penn State in the 1960s and 70s, he trained about 17 percent of the practicing meteorologists in the nation.

Myers said it was as a student at Penn State that he had the idea of starting a weather company and said his mentor, Dr. Charles Hosler, was particularly influential.

The Joel N. Myers Weather Center was renovated in 2008 and reopened in 2009. It will be dedicated on Saturday, July 10 during Penn State Meteorology's anniversary celebration. (Photo provided/Lynn Persing)

Myers will also be on hand for the dedication of the Joel N. Myers Weather Center on Saturday, July 10. Myers donated $2 million to the meteorology program in 2009.

"The department needed it, the department meant a lot to me, obviously. I've taken away a lot from Penn State. I've tried to give back to the university," Myers said.

Myers also hopes that his donation will encourage others to contribute to the university. Contributions to the meteorology program may play a factor in what is celebrated when the department recognizes its 100th anniversary in 2035.

Myers said his donation and the gifts of others will help train the next generation of meteorology students and will "continue to advance the field of meteorology and continue to ensure Penn State's key role in that endeavor."

No matter what alumni will be celebrating in the next 25 years, Nese guarantees that this anniversary will be worth your while. Department head Dr. William Brune particularly emphasized the opportunity to meet with distinguished alumni.

"There are a lot of great people who are coming back, and the opportunity to interact with them is going to be absolutely unique and, in some cases, will not occur again," he said.

About 250 people were registered to take part in the celebration as of the end of June. In addition to the panels and retrospective that kick off the anniversary, participants will also be able to take campus tours, visit the National Weather Service, partake in a dinner banquet, and create their own weathercast.

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