He received his Ph.D. in psychology from Purdue University and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, and an assistant professor of psychology at Central Missouri State University before joining the faculty of the University at Albany in 2001. He has published five books and over 60 journal articles, book chapters, encyclopedia entries, and book reviews in general psychology, educational psychology, and gifted education. He was a Fulbright Scholar to China during 2008-2009, and the recipient of the Early Scholar Award from the National Association for Gifted Children in 2006.