Meet The Dirtmeister®

Stephen M. Tomecek (a.k.a. "The Dirtmeister®") is the Executive Director and founder of Science Plus, Inc. Steve began his professional career as a geologist (yes, he's a real scientist!) specializing in geomorphology and soils. The title "Dirtmeister" was hung on him over 30 years ago by his students at the New York Botanical Gardens where he taught courses in soil science for many years.

In addition to still working as a scientist, Steve also has had a number of interesting jobs as a science educator. He served as the Associate Director for the Science Museum of Long Island and as the Science Program Supervisor for the New York Hall of Science. He recently retired from his position of Senior Science Advisor for the ABC Mouse website and still serves as a consultant and writer for National Geographic Kids, Infobase Publishing and What On Earth Books. In the past he has written and has helped to develop web sites for Discovery Communications, the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Los Alamos Labs, and the Jason Academy.

For eight years Steve was an on-air host for the "New York Kids" show on WNYC radio in New York City and was the writer and star of "Dr. Dad's Ph-3," an Emmy award winning television series produced by Louisiana Public Broadcasting which was broadcast on PBS stations across the country. Steve's television credits also include serving as the Science Educational Consultant for "3-2-1 Classroom Contact" produced by Children's Television Workshop and as a curriculum writer for both "Newton's Apple" and "Scholastic's Magic School Bus."

Steve has written over 45 nonfiction books for both teachers and kids. His very first book, Bouncing & Bending Light, won the 1996 American Institute of Physics science writing award and he has written 6 books for the highly acclaimed Jump Into Science series published by National Geographic. Steve is an active member of the Union of Concerned Scientists and was elected to both the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society and the New York Academy of Sciences.

Site Maintained by Christy Bailey-Tomecek for Science Plus, Inc.