He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and a B.S.E. in Computer Systems Engineering from Arizona State University, in Tempe Arizona. Michael teaches computer science students at all levels, from first-semester freshmen to working professionals in the evening graduate program. His current research interests cross cybersecurity education, algorithms, and software engineering. His previous research projects have also been in the area of computational biology and bioinformatics. Michael serves the college and department in various roles, including as the faculty academic advisor to Charlie Company in the South Carolina Corps of Cadets. Michael is a Professional Member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).