Professional Storm Chaser to Share Thrill-Seeking Adventures at Special Talk at Trent University Durham
Angry Planet Host George Kourounis to regale Trent University Durham community with footage of nature’s worst weather conditions
Renowned global adventurer, storm chaser, explorer and television presenter George Kourounis will share his globe-trotting adventures on Wednesday, November 30 at a special lecture at Trent University Durham-GTA, beginning at 7:00 p.m., where the thrill-seeking explorer will reveal some of nature’s worst weather conditions in a talk entitled Exploring Earth’s Extremes.
“We are really excited to have George visit our campus this week,” explains Dr. Helen Haines, Anthropology professor at Trent University Durham and friend of Mr. Kourounis. “His chosen career is exceptionally rare and I think that our community will be fascinated by him and his remarkable explorations. Plus, it will be a good chance to continue the ongoing conversation around bizarre weather formations and our climate crisis.”
Host of network television’s popular show, Angry Planet, Mr. Kourounis is also the first person to have ever filmed from the inside of three of world's most fearsome forces – a tornado, the eye of a hurricane, and an active volcano – and in 2005, he documented the devastating hurricane Katrina in Gulfport Mississippi.
His travels have taken him to almost every corner of the earth, including, the jungles of Rwanda to witness rare mountain gorillas; into a cage surrounded by great white sharks off the coast of Mexico; flying in a helicopter over huge forest fires in Northern Ontario; to the remote island nation of Vanuatu in the South Pacific where he got married on the crater's edge of the exploding Yasur volcano; dog sledding above the Arctic Circle, and kayaking with whales in Antarctica and beyond.
Mr. Kourounis is a fellow of the Explorers Club and the Royal Canadian Geographic Society. He is also a member of the Canadian Council for Geographic Education, The Society of Environmental Journalists, and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. He has been awarded the 2014 Stefansson Medal from the Explorers Club "for outstanding contribution to science and to public education by documenting extreme environments through film making," a medal from the Explorers Museum in Ireland in 2015 "for courageous contribution to scientific research" and was nominated for Gemini awards in 2008 and 2009 for his work hosting the Angry Planet TV series.
As always, Wednesday’s event is free and open to the public. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.
About Trent University Durham-GTA
Building on a tradition of academic excellence spanning over four decades in the east GTA, Trent University Durham-GTA offers a dynamic and rigorous educational experience rooted in the social sciences, humanities and professional programs. Students at Trent University Durham enthusiastically speak of the unparalleled sense of community on campus and the opportunity to be involved in a vibrant and dynamic student life experience. Quickly becoming the campus of choice for top scholars looking for a truly personalized learning experience, Trent University Durham is conveniently located in the GTA, just 40 minutes from downtown Toronto while Trent's Peterborough campus boasts award-winning architecture in a breathtaking natural setting on the banks of the Otonabee River, just 90 minutes from downtown Toronto
For more information, please contact:
Kate Weersink, media relations & strategic communications officer, Trent University, (705) 748-1011 x6180 or kateweersink@trentu.ca