Penn State grad used meteorology, technology to drive multi-pronged career

Penn State alumnus Joe Gofus remembers precisely when he knew that he wasn’t going to become a weather forecaster.

Joe Gofus and Lee Kump

Joe Gofus, left, who retired after a 36-year career in meteorology and atmospheric science, continues to support Penn State students through scholarships. He was inducted into the Obelisk Society in 2019 by Lee Kump, John Leone Dean in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. IMAGE: PENN STATE

David Kubarek, April 13, 2021

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State alumnus Joe Gofus remembers precisely when he knew that he wasn’t going to become a weather forecaster.

In the early 1970s, the then undergraduate student was listening to himself report the weather forecast on campus radio — partly sunny with almost no chance of rain — as he watched rain pelt the University Park campus.

“That I figured out early on,” Gofus said. “I was listening to my voice on the radio saying it was going to be partly cloudy and a nice day as it was pouring rain. And I thought maybe I wasn't really cut out for that.”

That didn’t stop Gofus from having a successful 36-year career in the field, however. After graduating from Penn State in 1975 with a degree in meteorology, he joined the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He began as a commissioned officer for four years, spending two years on a ship, before working for the National Weather Service.