I was born in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, in 1966 and lived there until age 11 when my dad got a new position in Wichita Falls, Texas. I lived there for 15 years, getting my Bachelors and Masters degrees in Biology from Midwestern State University. My Masters thesis treated the longhorned beetles of north Texas. I entered the PhD program at the University of Kansas in 1991, completing my dissertation in 1996 on a complicated tribe of mostly Neotropical longhorned beetles.
I was then hired by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1996 as a Research Entomologist specializing on leaf beetles and longhorned beetles. I was based at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. I served as curator of the longhorned beetle collection as well as National Identifier for that group, in addition to my main role as a Research Entomologist on agriculturally important beetles.
After 19 years there, I had a job opportunity that allowed me to move to Arizona, where I had long planned to retire. I now serve as a border Entomologist with USDA and identify all insects intercepted with cargo and baggage coming from Mexico into the United States.
My career has taken me to over 20 countries in the Neotropics, Asia, and Europe. I have published over 70 papers and 5 books. I have described over 100 species new to science in several families of beetles including Cerambycidae, Chrysomelidae, Staphylinidae, and Curculionidae. This website highlights my publications, research, travels, as well as those other researchers and collaborators who have honored me with patronyms.
Please visit my contact page if you’d like to get in touch.