He is an environmental engineer with research interests in molecular environmental microbiology related to the biodegradation of environmental contaminants and biotechnologies for energy and resource recovery from waste. His research group applies a combination of high-throughput and advanced molecular biology, analytical chemistry, and bioinformatics techniques to study microbial systems in natural and engineered environments. Christopher received his BSE in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and BA in Environmental Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.