I graduated from the
University of Rochester in 1995 with a BS in Geomechanics (that's mostly mechanical engineering, with some fun geology field trips thrown in for variety!).
After five very rewarding years as a Marine Officer, I decided to go back to school.
In 2003, I received my MS in
Aerospace Engineering from UT-Austin, with a specialty in orbital mechanics. Working as part of the
GRACE team, my masters thesis focused on improving an ocean circulation computer model to help analyze the time variability in the gravitational field of the earth.
From there, I took a research position at
MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts. There, I worked on precision orbit determination for the purpose of predicting and avoiding close approaches in the geosynchonous belt.
In January of 2006, I decided (with my girlfriend Megan) to move back to Austin in order to be closer to family and pursue teaching. While most of my family still lives in the New England area, I have a step-mother (Bonnie) and two half-brothers (Joe- 19, and Tyler- 14) who live here in the Austin area.
