CV
Below is an abbreviated version of my curriculum vitae. You might also want to check out my LinkedIn profile, USGS profile, and media interviews on my Press page.
Work Experience
- 2020-present: Deputy Director - USGS Geologic Hazards Science Center
- 2016-2020: Supervisory Geophysicist - USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
- 2005-2016: Geophysicist - NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
- 2010-2015: Co-founder, President/CEO - Astronauts for Hire, Inc.
- 2000-2005: Research or Teaching Associate - Washington University, Earth & Planetary Sciences
- 1998-1999: Geochemistry Lab Assistant - Northwestern University, Geological Sciences Department
- summer 1999: NSF/NASA Fellow - Juneau Icefield Research Program
- summer 1998: NSF-REU Intern (remote sensing) - University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska Satellite Facility
- summer 1997: NSF-REU Intern (physics) - Rice University and NASA JSC
Astronaut-Related Training Experience
- 06/2018: Guest instructor for NASA ASCAN class on Hawaiian geology, volcanology, and lunar analogs
- 09/2014: National Outdoor Leadership School (analog astronaut crew selection and survival training)
- 05/2012: NASA Flight Opportunities Program (80 parabolas on 2 reduced gravity flights)
- 01-08/2012: Private Pilot and Human Factors training at Pacific Aerospace Training Center
- 07/2011: NASTAR Suborbital Scientist Training Program (centrifuge, altitude chamber)
- 07/2011: Survival Systems USA (emergency egress dunker and sea survival programs)
- 07/2011: SIRIUS Astronaut Training (sensorimotor control, spatial disorientation)
- 01-02/2011: NOAA “How Do We Explore” Workshop (telepresence, ROV operation, etc.)
- 02/2010: MDRS: Mars Desert Research Station (Commander, 2-week mission in Utah)
- 07/2009: FMARS: Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (1-month, Devon Island, NT)
- 2008-2012: SCUBA: PADI Open Water, PADI Adv, PADI Rescue, & NAUI Master Diver
Field Experience
- 2016-2020: USGS volcano monitoring, including 2018 Kileaua eruption
- 03/2017: NASA mini-LHR installation (see paper)
- 11/2016: NASA BASALT: Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains
- 01-05/2016: NASA RIS4E and HI-SEAS lava tube geophysics study (GPR, magnetics, LiDAR)
- 09-2014: National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) analog astronaut training expedition (2 weeks, Wyoming)
- 05-06/2014: Schmidt Ocean Institute R/V Falkor (geophysical mapping of NW Hawaiian Islands, 36-day leg FK140502)
- 04/2014: Schmidt Ocean Institute R/V Falkor (geophysical mapping of Maui Nui, 3-day leg FK140418)
- 06/2013: UH NASA Astrobiology Institute (Mauna Kea permafrost exploration)
- 07/2012: Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (NASA ISRU lunar analog testing)
- 08-09/2010: NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer (multibeam mapping from Guam-Hawaii, 15-day leg EX1005)
- 02/2010: MDRS: Mars Desert Research Station (Commander, 2-week mission in Utah)
- 07/2009: FMARS: Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (1-month, Devon Island, NT)
- 05-06/2003: MARIANA: Mariana Subduction Zone Seismic Imaging (installed 20 stations)
- 01-02/2002: TAMSEIS: Trans-Antarctic Mountains Seismic Experiment (serviced 31 stations)
- 07/2001, 05/2002: SAFT: Seismic Arrays in Fiji and Tonga (installed/serviced 27 stations)
- 05/2001 – 12/2001: FLED: Florida to Edmonton Seismic Array (installed/serviced 26 stations)
- 07/1999 – 08/1999 : JIRP: Juneau Icefield Research Program (2-month expedition in Alaska and BC)
- 08/1998 – 09/1998: Sedimentology & Stratigraphy Field Camp (3 weeks in CO, AZ, UT)
Education
- 2013-2201: PhD - University of Hawaii: Geology & Geophysics (volcanology, seismology, exploration geophysics)
- 2007-2010: MS - University of North Dakota: Space Studies (Mars exploration)
- summer 2005: SSP - International Space University: Space Studies Program Certificate (policy & law)
- summer 2003: NASA Planetary Sciences Summer School: The Mission Lifecycle Process (JPL)
- summer 2002: NASA Summer School for High Performance Computing in Earth & Space Sciences (GSFC)
- 2002-2005: PhD ABD - Washington University: Earth & Planetary Sciences (planetary geophysics)
- 2000-2002: MA - Washington University: Earth & Planetary Sciences (geophysics)
- 1996-2000: BA - Northwestern University: Integrated Science Program, Geological Sciences, Physics
Selected Awards
- Stearns Fellowship (2015)
- NASA Astronaut Selection, Highly Qualified (2012)
- NOAA Citation Award (2012)
- NASA Flight Opportunities Program, Collaborator (2011)
- NASA Spaceward Bound scholarship for MDRS (2010)
- NASA Astronaut Selection, Highly Qualified (2009)
- NASA Human Spaceflight scholarship for International Space University (2005)
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Honorable Mention (2002)
- Carl Tolman Prize for outstanding graduate teaching assistant (2001)
- NASA Space Grant fellowship and NSF scholarship for the Juneau Icefield Research Program (1999)
- International Science & Engineering Fair: 3rd Place Physics (1996)
- Westinghouse Science Talent Search Semifinalist (1996)
- National Merit Scholar Finalist (1996)
- Yale Science & Engineering Association Award (1995)
- US Army and Navy science scholarship (1995)
- Eagle Scout with 5 Palms (1993)
Selected Posters and Presentations
- GSA 2017 - "Geophysical Mapping of a Lava Tube Cave on Mauna Loa Volcano, Hawai‘i"
- AGU 2016 - "Modernization of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Seismic Processing Infrastructure"
- NESF 2016 - "Geophysical investigation of lava tubes at the HI-SEAS planetary analog site in Hawai‘i" (video)
- NESF 2015 - "Asynchronous geological exploration operations at the HI-SEAS planetary surface analog simulation in Hawai‘i" (video)
- AGU 2014 - "Tsunami.gov: NOAA’s Tsunami Information Portal"
- NESF 2014 - "Geological Field Activities at the HI-SEAS Planetary Surface Analog Mission Simulation in Hawai‘i" (video)
- ICES 2013 - "HI-SEAS: A Series of Planetary Surface Mission Simulations in Hawai'i"
- NSRC 2013 - "Astronauts for Hire: Empowering Suborbital Research"
- LPSC 2013 - "Mars Geophysical Lander Mission: A Mission Concept from the 2003 NASA Planetary Science Summer School"
- Ignite STEM 2013 - "Life on Mars in Hawai'i"
- PISCES 2012 - "In Situ Resource Utilization by Humans in Planetary Analog Environments"
- SSA 2012 - "Enhanced Real-Time Seismic Monitoring in Hawai'i"
- Ignite STEM 2012 - "Astronauts4Hire"
- NSRC 2012 - "Developing Astronauts4Hire: The First Two Years"
- NSRC 2012 - "Measuring Ion Currents and Electric Fields Caused by Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Lightning in the Mesosphere"
- SMCH 2011 - "Social Media, Tsunamis, and Crisis Management"
- UND 997 Symposium 2010 - "In Situ Geophysical Exploration by Humans in Mars Analog Environments"
- Lunar Science Forum 2010 - "Iterative Science Strategy on Analog Geophysical EVAs"
- SpaceOps 2010 - "Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) 2009 Crew Perspectives"
- LPSC 2010 - "In Situ Geophysical Exploration by Humans in Mars Analog Environments"
- AGU 2009 - "Use of Web 2.0 Technologies for Public Outreach on a Simulated Mars Mission"
- SSA 2007 - "Towards the Establishment of the Hawai'i Integrated Seismic Network (HISN)"
- AGU 2006 - "Towards the Establishment of the Hawai'i Integrated Seismic Network (HISN) for Tsunami, Seismic, and Volcanic Hazard Mitigation"
- UNCOPUOS 2006 - "Global Wildland Fire Forecasting Using Space Technologies"
- PSSS 2003 - "Mars Geophysical Lander Proposal Authorization Review"
- AGU 2002 - "Outer Rise Seismicity and Dynamics"
- IRIS 2002 - "Florida to Edmonton Array of Broadband Seismometers"
- AGU 2001 - "Outer Rise Seismicity at the Tonga Trench Recorded by Ocean Bottom Seismographs"