He received a BA in Art from Reed College in Portland, Oregon and an MFA at Stanford University from the Joint Program in Design. He has taught at Pratt Institute in New York and served as critic at the New School. Before coming to Virginia Tech he spent 7 years at Smart Design in New York as Associate Director of Industrial Design where he helped consumer product companies embrace the value of design and a user-centered innovation process. He has been honored with several international design awards from IDSA, iF, Red Dot, and Chicago Athenaeum among others. In 2011 his OXO Tot Sprout Chair won an IDSA Silver as well as Red Dot ‘Best of the Best’ award. He holds over 10 domestic and international patents for his work.