He holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Auburn University Auburn, 2007. Prior to joining Widener University, he was a research engineer of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Maine, where he led the Forest Bioproducts Research Institute (FBRI) Pulp and Biorefinery processing research cluster. He has 18 peer-reviewed publications in the field of biofuel and bioproducts, a patent for recovery of acetic acid from wood extracts, and 21 conference presentations. He has been active in serving as an editorial board member of Journal of Petroleum & Environmental Biotechnology, also serving as a reviewer of peer-reviewed journals in the area of biofuel and bioproducts, pulp and biorefinery, biomass conversion, bioprocessing technology, and enzyme and microbial technology.