He received a B.S in chemistry (1987), and a M.S. and Ph.D. in experimental physical chemistry (1992) from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, USA. He did postdoctoral work at SRI International in Menlo Park, CA, USA, before joining the faculty at the USCGA in 1994 to teach introductory chemistry, physical, and analytical chemistry. He has teamed with CAPT Richard Gaines over the last ten years to develop instrumentation and applications for comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC). His focus application areas include forensic analysis of ignitable liquids in fire debris, oil spill fingerprinting in environmental samples, and geochemical markers in sediments. He is an author or co-author of 14 publications and 48 presentations related to GC × GC.