He attained his bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Kansas in 1984 and went on to receive his Ph.D. at the University of Miami in 1991, studying under herpetologist Jay M. Savage.
Po razdejanju mesta s strani Habsburžanov 1552 je bil Noyon v letu 1559 prodan Franciji pod pogoji miru v Le Cateau-Cambrésisu.