His research focuses on the emergence of complex social behavior in leaderless and decentralized animal groups, particularly social insects. He employs both theoretical and empirical approaches, and is also active in the development of bio-inspired algorithms for swarm robotics applications. He received a Ph.D. in neurobiology and behavior from Cornell University in 1997. Before coming to ASU, he worked as a postdoc at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, and the University of Bath.