His research interests center on the origin and evolution of the earth’s crust. His research tools are drawn primarily from igneous and metamorphic petrology, mineral chemistry, trace element and isotope geochemistry, and geochronology. He has served as chair of the Department of Geosciences and as Associate Dean for the College of Sciences at UNLV. He is secretary of the Cordilleran Section of the Geological Society of America and served two terms as an Associate Editor for the Bulletin of the Geological Society of America.