About Me
Hey folks! Alphabetically speaking, I am a musician, a scientist, and a writer.
Going down the list, I am a drummer and percussionist. I have played professionally since my days in high school with beginnings in river rat bars near the Ocoee River in southeast Tennessee. My musical endeavors have taken me around the world performing with artists such as Donald Brown, Larkin Poe, Jerry Douglas, John Oates, Elvis Costello, Randy Steele, Josh Oliver, Mike Seal, Todd Parks, Same As It Ever Was, and Col Bruce Hampton.
Though I enjoyed my fair share of parties on the road, I often spent the time traveling, reading books on various sciences and philosophy. After several years of traveling, I found myself in a hotel room late one night, curious about mathematics. So, over the course of the next three years, I studied in my spare time on the road, eventually working up through basic calculus. Simultaneously, my curiosity to learn about other things than music blossomed, and at 33, I decided to pursue my education, earning a BS and MS in Geology with a focus on planetary sciences and eventually a Ph.D.
As a scientist, I currently reside at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. My research interests are related to using data science, geospatial analysis, and remote sensing techniques to investigate phenomena related to environmental and social determinants of health. My experiences and work ethic have contributed to meaningful projects that yielded significant impact at institutions such as the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Center for Climate Crimes Analysis, Yale School of Public Health, as well as Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Last but certainly not least, I have a passion for writing. In late 2021, I locked eyes with an elephant named Edie at my local zoo in Knoxville, TN. This uncanny moment of a mutual gaze stuck with me, and I wanted to learn about Edie’s provenance. As I dug into her past, a fascinating, mysterious, and meticulously guarded world began to materialize. Questions began to burn in my mind, not only about the fantastic beings themselves and their history but also those responsible for their future here. So, over the past year and some change, I have been working a book about captive elephants in North America. I will be posting updates on this project as it develops.