He obtained B.S. and M.S. degrees in Physics from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. He received the Ph.D. degree in condensed matter physics from Case Western Reserve University in 2001. He then went to Sandia National Laboratories and after four years as post-doctoral researcher he joined the faculty in the department of Physics at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (Salukis), achieving the rank of Associate Professor before moving to the University of Akron (Zips) in 2010.