He began his studies at the Rhino-Westphalian Technical Institute in Aachen, Germany, before moving to Fairbanks in 1988 to pursue graduate degrees in biological oceanography (M.S.) and fisheries oceanography (Ph.D.), as well as biostatistics (M.S.). His research initially focused on the early life history of pollock and flatfishes in nearshore waters of the Gulf of Alaska, and gradually expanded to include adult groundfish communities throughout the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea. He has also modeled recruitment processes of salmon in relation to temperature variability throughout the Northeast Pacific and has worked on other anadromous species in Alaskan waters, including the Beaufort Sea.
He is particularly interested in the applied aspects of his research as they relate to the management of fisheries resources in the face of global climate changes. He is currently involved in two multi-disciplinary integrated ecosystem research programs in the Bering Sea (BEST – BSIERP ) and in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA IERP), funded by NPRB, and leads the Arctic Ecosystem Integrated Survey (Arctic EIS) in the northern Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea, funded by BOEMRE .
