He obtained a B.S. in chemical engineering from Hampton University in 1997, and a Ph.D. in chemical and biochemical engineering from Rutgers University in 2003. He worked as a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Haverford College and then at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the recipient of the National Science Foundation Career Award in Fluid Dynamics. His research focuses on the dynamics of complex fluids, swimming, microfluidics, and interfacial phenomena.