A native of New York City, Michael recently served as a visiting assistant professor of mathematics at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. Michael earned his Ph.D. from North Carolina State University in 2010. His primary research interests are in homotopy algebras, which have applications in areas of theoretical physics such as closed field string theory. He is also interested in computational and applied topology. Outside of academia, he enjoys working on cars and watching baseball, offering exhaustive support of the New York Mets.