He received his Ph.D. in Learning Sciences from Northwestern University in 2008, studying computational literacy, systems literacy, and the design of constructionist learning environments. In 2009, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin working on AI systems and human-robot interface design. His current projects include an NSF-funded handheld robotics project; a computational thinking project using tabletop boardgames; a project to investigate the learning processes of novice programmers; and novel assessments for constructionist classrooms.