Authorities in Minnesota say a respected local professor was arrested on suspicion of brutally attacking his fiancee during an altercation at an apartment they shared in Minneapolis.

The suspect was identified as 47-year-old Aaron Herbert Doering, a climate change expert who serves as the director of the University of Minnesota’s Learning Technologies Media Lab, according to Fox News.

He was reportedly arrested on Thursday and is expected to face criminal charges including two felony counts of domestic assault by strangulation. The charges stem from the previous domestic dispute during which the alleged victim claimed he dragged her around by her hair and otherwise battered and choked her.

At one point during the beating, she told police that she believed she would lose consciousness.

Police reported that she bore apparent signs of an attack like the one she described, including a bruised neck and several abrasions on her face.

When officers arrived at the scene, reports indicate they had to physically separate Doering and the unnamed woman before taking him into custody.

In addition to describing the alleged assault, the woman reportedly further told investigators that she was convinced her life would be in danger if Doering came back after the incident.

A complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court alleges that the woman was afraid he would “kill her if he returns to the apartment.”

The suspect has frequently made media appearances warning of the dangers of climate change and is a fellow at the Royal Canadian Geographic Society.

As the New York Post reported, he remained behind bars with bond set at $40,000 ahead of a preliminary court date set for Friday.

[Featured image: Aaron Doering, Hennepin County Jail]