Bio
I was born in Lewiston, ME, in 1984.
I lived in Lancaster, MA from 1985 until going to college in 2002 and then grad school in 2006. Growing up, I loved space exploration and science fiction. I wanted to be an astronaut from an early age, or maybe an astronomer or engineer.
As a high school student, I became heavily involved in the Civil Air Patrol, a civilian volunteer organization that serves as the official auxiliary of the United States Air Force. I joined the Lt Col Frank Pocher Minute Man Squadron in Stow, MA as a cadet. There, I served in just about every role in the squadron from element leader to flight sergeant to, eventually, the cadet commander of the squadron after I achieved the Billy Mitchell Award and became a cadet officer.
The last two summers of high school, I interned at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, where I worked in the High-Energy Astrophysics Division on oscillating plasma loops in the solar corona. This work started to convince me that I prefer experimentation to data analysis at a computer, cool as the material is!
In 2002-2006, I went to Williams College. I majored in physics there and loved it - while I picked up squash, ultimate frisbee, and a physics outreach experience from tutoring freshman physics students at the Math-Science Resource Center. I recieved my B.A. in 2006 after completing an honors thesis.
My physics thesis lab, 2005 - the spots of purple light on the left come from the Nd:YAG pump laser and the coil of purple light is an Er/Yb-doped fiber gain medium
Rather than pursue an advanced degree in physics, I decided to pursue my space exploration aspirations in the field of aerospace engineering. I entered the Ph.D. program at Cornell University in fall 2006, where I worked on next-generation spacecraft engineering research. I finished my doctorate in early 2011, after several successful conference presentations, a zero-g flight on the Vomit Comet, and even a TV appearance!
In Ithaca, I linked up with the town Civil Air Patrol squadron as a senior member. I served a dual role as the squadron's Deputy Commander for Cadets and the Aerospace Education Officer. I attained the grade of First Lieutenant in 2008.