His travels have taken him from Native American communities north of the Arctic Circle to research stations at the South Pole in Antarctica. He won more than 50 journalism awards as a reporter at the Philadelphia Inquirer and has been a three-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He has taught a variety of journalism courses at Michigan State University (MSU) and is the founding director of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism. Now retired, he holds the title of Knight Professor of Journalism Emeritus at Michigan State. He has traveled to more than 60 countries on all seven continents and has twice been awarded Fulbright Scholarships to teach and conduct research in China. He has previously served as a faculty host and guest lecturer on MSU Alumni Association trips to China, Argentina, Antarctica, Scandinavia and Australia & New Zealand.