His research focuses on understanding the dynamics of nonlinear systems far from equilibrium, and has included projects on turbulent fluid flows, collective animal behavior, the erosion of granular materials, and active matter. He graduated from Swarthmore College in 2002 with majors in Physics and Computer Science, and earned his Ph.D. in Physics from Cornell University in 2006. Before coming to Yale, he did postdoctoral research at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in 2006, and in the Physics Department at Haverford College from 2007-2008.