He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University (2001) and taught at Princeton University before joining U of C. He's been a visiting scholar at New York University and Columbia University. He is the author of numerous articles including the award-winning "Culture, Cohorts, and Social Organization Theory" (AJS 2002). His book, Villa Victoria (Chicago 2004), was awarded both the C. Wright Mills Book Award and the Robert E. Park Book Award.