He received his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in Civil and Environmental Engineering. His research interests include wastewater treatment, microbiology, nutrient and microconstituent removal, and energy and resource recovery from wastes. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Research Office, the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences, and others. He is a licensed Civil Engineer in the State of New Mexico.