He received a Ph.D. in integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley, an Ed.M. in science education at Columbia University, and a B.S. in geology (paleobiology) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Major honors include a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation, an outstanding instructor award from Berkeley, and a college-wide mentoring award from the City University of New York. In 2006 he was named an Education Fellow in the Life Sciences by the National Academy of Sciences. He publishes widely on topics relating to evolution, scientific thinking, student learning, and assessment methodologies.