He received his Honors B.Sc. degree in Mathematics and Physics from McMaster University in 1995, and his PhD in Astronomy from the University of Victoria in 1999. He then worked as a research fellow at Durham University in the UK, until returning to Canada to the University of Waterloo in 2004. His research interests include the formation and growth of galaxies, and large scale structure in the Universe. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Gemini Observatory, Canada's largest optical telescopes, located in Chile and Hawaii. He is also a member of the Canada Space Telescope (CASTOR) Mission Concept Science Team.