He received his PhD in 2005 in the History and Sociology of Science program at the University of Pennsylvania. His research is at the intersection of environmental history and the history of science and technology in the American West. His current projects focus on the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains between 1860 and 1920, including (1) the history of scientific practices in the field and environmental sciences, and (2) the relationship between the field sciences, economic development, and environmental transformation. He is also interested in agriculture and the history of the food system, the history of capitalism and political economy, the involvement of lay people in the field sciences, and the history of science in the national parks.