He received his Ph.D. in mass communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research interests include new media technologies, media production and policy, cultural economy and international communication. As a Fulbright-Hayes Scholar to the Caribbean, conducted research in Argentina through a Tinker-Nave grant and worked at ENDA Tiers-Monde in Senegal, West Africa. He can speak on how social media was used in the coordination of the terrorist attacks and its role in the aftermath.