Biography
I grew up in central Illinois and graduated from Calvin in 2005. I moved on to the University of Michigan, where I earned a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology in 2011. After spending a year as a professor at Olivet Nazarene University, I returned to Calvin and joined the Department of Biology in 2012. Outside of academia, I enjoy Euro-style tabletop games, birding, nature photography, science fiction (especially Star Wars), super heroes, rooting for the St. Louis Cardinals and Michigan Wolverines, and exploring local parks with my wife and two sons.
Education
- Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan (2011)
- B.S. in Biology (with honors), Calvin College (2005)
Professional Experience
- Â鶹Çø, Associate Professor of Biology (2019–present)
- Calvin College, Assistant Professor of Biology (2012–2019)
- Olivet Nazarene University, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences (2011–2012)
Academic Interests
I am interested in comparative anatomy, functional morphology, vertebrate paleontology, and the evolutionary history of mammals (especially aquatic mammals). I mostly teach courses courses related to anatomy and physiology, but I have also co-led off-campus courses in Ecuador, the Galápagos Islands, and New Zealand.
I am also deeply interested in the relationship between science and Christian faith. I have been a speaker for the BioLogos Foundation since 2016 and frequently speak at churches and schools about evolutionary science and Christianity. In addition, I have been a Scholarship and Christianity in Oxford (SCIO) visiting scholar in science and religion and a participant in SCIO's Bridging the Two Cultures of Science and the Humanities II program.
Research
In the past, I have worked on fossil horses and pinnipeds, but most of my research has focused on fossil cetaceans. For my doctoral work, I studied an enigmatic group of fossil whales from the middle Eocene of Pakistan called remingtonocetids. My research focused on their postcranial skeleton and utilized multivariate statistical analyses and three-dimensional multibody dynamic models to test hypotheses of vertebral function. In 2009, I spent two months on a paleontological dig in Egypt, where I helped to excavate the skeletons of fossil whales at Wadi Al-Hitan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Egypt's western desert. I routinely work in research collections at museums, where I study the anatomies of modern mammals to aid in the interpretation of fossil forms.
My current research focuses on the transition from foot-powered to tail-powered swimming in the earliest fossil cetaceans. I am also working on an interdisciplinary project exploring the theological ramifications of pre-human animal death and suffering that are a part of the evolutionary process.
Teaching
In my classes, we focus a lot on details. Whether we are discussing the potential pathways of individual neurons in the sympathetic nervous system, the array of physiological mechanisms that work together to combat a decrease in blood pressure, or the various theological implications of evolutionary theory, I encourage students to resist the urge to oversimplify. The bodies we inhabit are incredibly complex, and so is the world we live in. I push students to honor that complexity by digging into the details, giving them a richer appreciation for how their bodies move, hear, and breathe, but also helping them to see that a deep and nuanced understanding of the world is necessary to cope with many of the complicated issues we are dealing with in the 21st century.
Professional Associations
- American Scientific Affiliation
- Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
Awards
- 2023, American Scientific Affiliation Fellow
- 2020, Â鶹Çø Advising and Mentoring Award
- 2018-2019, Scholarship and Christianity in Oxford (SCIO) visiting scholar in science and religion
- 2017, Calvin College Professor of the Year (presented by Calvin College K4L: Student Alumni Association)
Research and Scholarship
