He earned a B.S. Degree in Physics and Astrophysics from Tufts University as well as a B.M. from The New England Conservatory as part of their joint degree program. In 2003, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado after completing a thesis under the direction of Jeffrey L. Linsky on the physical properties of gas and dust in the interstellar space between the stars. His graduate work was partially funded by a NASA Graduate Student Researchers Program (GSRP) Fellowship.