CANTON -- An award-winning technology journalist will visit SUNY Canton to discuss career opportunities in STEM, as well as the importance of diversity within those fields.

Steve Ross will speak at noon Thursday, Feb. 11, in Nevaldine North, Room 102. He will talk about his background and offer advice for students who are pursuing STEM-related degrees.

The event is sponsored by the National Science Foundation STEM Scholars Program and is free and open to the public.

Ross is the editor-in-chief of Broadband Communities magazine and a co-founder of the Institute for Analytic Journalism and the State of New Jersey's Environmental Education Fund. His clients have included Time Warner, Consumers Union and UNICEF.

He is a fellow of the American Institute of Chemists and has lectured and worked in more than 80 countries worldwide. He has also written and edited 19 books and numerous papers on land-use planning, product safety and environmental issues. In addition, Ross is a co-founder of the State of New Jersey's Environmental Education Fund.

He earned his bachelor's degree in physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.

In addition to being a National Society of Professional Engineers President's Award winner, he was named among the "Top 50" pioneers in new media by Online Journalism Review.