He has a B.A. from the University of Alaska Anchorage and a Ph.D. from the University of Alberta. Kory has worked in CRM in California and Alaska, including seasonal work for the NPS, and carried out research in Sudan and Jordan. He applies a behavioral archaeology approach to the study of technological change past and present. A major focus of his research is the origin of native copper metallurgy, and use of trade metal, among hunter-gatherers in the Arctic, Subarctic, and Northwest Coast, but he is also involved with interdisciplinary research on e-waste.