Chris earned his PhD from CU Boulder in 2007, which focused on the thermo-mechanics of shape-memory polymers. He helped co-found MedShape, Inc., a biomedical device company in Atlanta, GA and served as the principal scientist for MedShape from 2008-2011. During this time, MedShape cleared several innovative shape-memory polymer and alloy medical devices through the USFDA. In 2012, Chris joined the faculty at CU Denver. He has since been developing new methods of synthesizing liquid-crystalline elastomers and characterizing their actuation and viscoelastic behavior. He also serves as an advisor and consultant for several biomedical device companies that focus on smart-polymer devices. Chris has published over 33 peer-reviewed journal articles and has been awarded over $2M in small business and academic research grants.