Marcus Yam graduated from UB in 2006 with a degree in aerospace engineering — and then took a very different career path. He’s now a top news photographer with two Pulitzer Prizes to his name.

Yam will discuss his career and how he tackles photographing people in crisis situations around the world — from Sandy Hook to Mosul to flood-ravaged Houston — at a talk on Oct. 6 at UB as part of the university’s Homecoming and Family Weekend activities.

His presentation, titled “Running toward Fire: Pursuing an Unlikely Career,” will take place at 4 p.m. in the Student Union Theater, North Campus. It is free and open to the public.

Those attending Yam’s talk are asked to RSVP by Sept. 29.

A staff photographer with the Los Angeles Times, Yam was part of the Times’ breaking news team that won a Pulitzer — journalism’s top award — for its coverage of the terrorist attack in San Bernardino. He also won a Pulitzer with the Seattle Times for the newspaper’s coverage of the deadly mudslide in Oso, Washington.

His other awards include an Emmy for “The Home Front,” a video he filmed for
The New York Times, as well as an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award and a DART Award for Trauma Coverage. He was named the POYi (Pictures of the Year International) Newspaper Photographer of the Year in 2016.