Eric Berger (born 1972 or 1973) is an American journalist and meteorologist who is the senior space editor at ''

Ars Technica ''Ars Technica'' is a website covering news and opinions in technology, science, politics, and society, created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews, and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, sci ...

'' and the editor of ''Space City Weather''.

Early life, education, and family

Berger, who was raised in Michigan, graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in astronomy. Berger then attended graduate school at the University of Missouri where he received a master's degree in journalism. In 2014, Berger completed a distance learning program at

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

to become a certified meteorologist. Berger lives in League City, Texas, with his wife, Amanda, and two daughters.

Career

Science journalist

Berger began working at the '' Houston Chronicle'' in 1998. He started his career at the ''Chronicle'' as a general assignments reporter before transitioning to the science desk in late 2001. In 2005, he launched a science and technology blog on the ''Houston Chronicle'' website called ''SciGuy'', which focused primarily on chemistry, physics, and astronomy. Berger also began writing about weather during his time at the ''Chronicle''. Berger's coverage of

Hurricane Ike Hurricane Ike () was a powerful tropical cyclone that swept through portions of the Greater Antilles and Northern America in September 2008, wreaking havoc on infrastructure and agriculture, particularly in Cuba and Texas. Ike took a sim ...

contributed to the staff of the ''Houston Chronicle'' becoming a nominated finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting in 2009. After leaving the ''Houston Chronicle'' and joining ''Ars Technica'', Berger also started the ''Space City Weather'' blog in October 2015. The blog, which is operated jointly by Berger and Matt Lanza, provides weather forecasts for the Greater Houston area. The blog's readership increased drastically during

Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest t ...

, with over one million visits to the site on August 27, 2017. In recognition of Berger and Lanza's service to Houston as weather forecasters, the mayor of Houston, Sylvester Turner, declared June 8, 2021, as "Space City Weather Day".

Space journalist

In October 2015, Berger left the ''Houston Chronicle'' to write for ''

''. As the senior space editor at ''Ars'', Berger's primary focus is on NASA and private aerospace. Berger authored ''Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days that Launched SpaceX'', which was published by William Morrow and Company and released in March 2021. The book chronicles Elon Musk's leadership in the early days of

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal of ...

's history.

References

{{Authority control American meteorologists University of Texas at Austin alumni Missouri School of Journalism alumni American science journalists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)