He holds a degree in chemical engineering from Purdue University and a Ph.D. in the history and philosophy of science from Indiana University. His research focuses on the history of chemistry and alchemy during the Scientific Revolution, natural philosophy and medicine in early modern universities, and the developmental of empirical and experimental methods in science. He has been the recipient of a National Science Foundation Scholar’s Award, and his other notable publications include “‘Ars sine arte:’ Nicholas Lemery and the End of Alchemy in Eighteenth-Century France” (Ambix, 1998) and “Chemistry Enters the University: Herman Boerhaave and the Reform of the Chemical Arts” (in History of Universities, 2006).