Ben received his MA and PhD in sociology at the University of Chicago. His research examines contemporary issues such as intergovernmental conflict in policy areas such as immigration, election law, and environmental protection, emerging water management issues, and the regulation and ethical use of emerging technologies such as genetic engineering. For each of these topics, he studies adaptive and novel use of existing administrative structures, such as interstate compacts. His previous work has appeared in journals such as Cultural Sociology, the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, New Genetics & Society, and Research Ethics.