He earned his Ph.D. in Oceanography at the University of Washington and was a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Georgia. His research focuses on high-temperature anaerobic microorganisms that grow in hydrothermal environments in the deep sea. Specifically, he is interested in microbial life in the subsurface biosphere, numerical modeling of microbial metabolism, microbe-mineral interactions, biomarkers, and the application of thermophiles in bioremediation and bioenergy.