He earned his Ph.D. in Integrative Biology from UC, Berkeley with Professor Robert Full. He was an NSF postdoctoral fellow in biological informatics at the University of Washington where he worked with Professor Tom Daniel (Biology) and Professor Adrienne Fairhall (Physiology & Biophysics). Simon is a Hertz fellow and was awarded the young investigator award from the International Society of Neuroethology. His work recently was awarded an NSF CAREER grant. His research is at the interface of physics and physiology, using a dynamic systems and neuromechanics approach to understand locomotion, and especially maneuverability and stability, in biological systems.