Astronaut for Hire

About Me

I'm an explorer who thirsts for adventure through travel and outdoor activity. Besides blogging, my main hobby is running. I have 6 marathons under my belt and over 50 shorter races. I'm also a recreational cyclist and have been known to partake in the occasional triathlon. When I can, I also like to go hiking, backpacking, river kayaking, and snow skiing. My favorite places are mountains, and I can never get enough snow. I'm a trained climber and mountaineer with glacier-trekking and minor mountain-climbing experience in both Alaska and Antarctica. I'm also an open-water-certified SCUBA diver and hope to earn my Scientific Diver certification in the future. I'm an aviation and aerospace enthusiast, and I grew up flying airplanes with my dad before I could even drive a car. However, I don't have my private pilot's certification due to a lack of disposable income (donations welcome :).

My professional background spans physical, earth, and planetary sciences. I'm interested in plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, impacts, and the interiors of terrestrial planets. I also like science policy and hope help shape the government's science goals and priorities someday. The common theme in my interests is a belief that science should improve society. That's why I am particularly passionate about natural disaster mitigation using space technologies. I think we have an obligation to excite the next generation about science, so I enjoy teaching students and attending events like career and science fairs a few times per year.

I try my best to live sustainably and help others to do the same. I believe we can all do more to reduce our footprints on the Earth and leave it in better condition for our descendants. A native of Arkansas who transplanted to the Midwest, I now live in Hawaii with my wife and baby boy. My lifelong goal is to live and work in space as an astronaut. I was an applicant for NASA's 2009 astronaut class and made it to the "Highly Qualified" stage (top 3-13%) before being cut during the selection process. I will try again when the opportunity arises again in a few years.