He was raised in New Zealand, where he was trained as a microbiologist/membrane biochemist (Univ. Otago). His interests in bioenergetics and microbial physiology exported him to the United Kingdom (Univ. Leeds) where he studied bioelectrochemistry in biomimetic lipid bilayers and started his studies in single-molecule. He then studied molecular machines in single molecule firstly in Germany (Friedrich Schiller Univ.), then in Japan (The Univ. of Tokyo) while continuing his work in bioelectrochemistry and microbial physiology. While in Japan he became an Assistant Professor in the lab of Hiroyuki Noji and orchestrated an international consortium between Japan and New Zealand. He was then awarded the Prestigious Rutherford Discovery Fellowship in 2016, and has since taken up his present position at TU Delft.