He received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 2013 and his B.A. from St. Olaf College in 2007. Nathan was an Environmental Fellow at Harvard University from 2013-2015. His research analyzes the interactions between climate, water resources, and agricultural management to promote global food security and more sustainable agricultural landscapes. Recent work has examined the impacts of agricultural intensification on local climate, how changes in weather and soil moisture extremes interact to determine crop yields, the efficiency of nitrogen use in global crop production, and the impacts of agricultural technology diffusion on infant health. His work has been featured in Nature, Science, and Nature Climate Change.