He earned his PhD in Mathematics at The University of Arizona in 2008, applying the modern theory of pattern formation and ideas from number theory to understand how biochemical and biomechanical mechanisms interact to form patterns, such as Fibonacci spirals, on plants. He was an NSF postdoc at the Max-Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, in Leipzig, Germany and at the University of Maryland-College Park. His current research interests include nanoscale pattern formation, topological data analysis, and models of nucleation and growth.