Education

1992 Columbia University, Ph.D., Physics

1990 Columbia University, M.Phil., Physics

1989 Columbia University, M.A., Physics

1987 Imperial College, University of London, B.Sc. (Hons.), Physics
Royal College of Science, A.R.C.S. (Hons.), Physics 

Professional History

2011–present: Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University

2004–2011: Associate Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University

1998–2004: Assistant Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University

1995–1998: Hubble Fellow, Department of Astronomy University of California, Berkeley

1992–1995: Postdoctoral Researcher, Space Telescope Science Institute

Academic Appointments and Affiliations

2014–2018: Associate Department Head in charge of graduate program, Department of of Astronomy & Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University

2011–present: Member, Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos, Center for Multimessenger Astrophysics, Center for Theoretical and Observational Cosmology, The Pennsylvania State University

2005–2011: Member, Center for Gravitational Wave Physics, The Pennsylvania State University 

Awards and Distinctions

2019: Faculty Mentor of the Year for the Sloan Minority PhD Program (sponsored by the Institute on Teaching and Mentoring, Southern Regional Education Board)

2013: C. I. Noll Award for Excellence in Teaching (Penn State, sponsored by the Alumni Board and the Eberly College of Science)

2012: Eberly College of Science Dean's Climate and Diversity Award (Penn State)

1995–1998: Hubble Fellowship

1992: Allan M. Sachs Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Teaching (Columbia University, Physics Department) 

Membership in Professional Organizations

Since 2025: International Astronomical Union

Since 1994: High-Energy Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society

Since 1989: American Astronomical Society

Selected Service on Professional Committees and Large Scientific Collaborations

2021 summer: Interim Spokesperson, Sloan Digital Sky Survey V

2018–present: Co-Chair, SDSS-V Quasar Physics Working Group

2017–2024: Member, NASA LISA Study Team

2016–2018: Chair, Chandra Users' Group

Sabbatical Visits

2020–2021

Center for Theoretical and Observational Cosmology, The Pennsylvania State University

2013–2014

spring-summer 2014 : Department of Astronomy, University of Washington

fall 2013–winter 2014 : Center for Relativistic Astrophysics, Georgia Institute of Technology

summer 2013 : Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara

2006–22007

summer 2007 : Center for Gravitational Wave Physics, The Pennsylvania State University

winter–spring 2007 : Department of Astrophysics, The American Museum of Natural History

fall 2006 & late spring 2007 : Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University