He grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada and received a bachelor’s in Horticulture and a M.S. in Tree Physiology from the University of Saskatchewan. He went on to complete his Ph.D. in Forestry at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada specializing in the physiology of nitrogen uptake and distribution in poplar. The focus of his research program is understanding the interactions between environment, management and genetics of tree fruit using a physiology-centric approach. His current work includes developing new methods to understand calcium uptake and distribution in tree fruit and mitigation of abiotic stress in apples. His program combines classical ecophysiological approaches and isotopic techniques with new imaging and sensing approaches to understand the problem of bitter pit in apple.