I graduated with a BA in history from Truman State University in 2007. He received his MA in history from the University of Kansas in 2011 and his PhD from KU in 2015 under the direction of his advisor Dr. Greg Cushman. My  work focuses on Dutch environmental history during the early modern period with an added emphasis on the history of climate, natural disaster, and historical geographic information systems.

At the Oosterscheldekering in Zeeland

My environmental focus is primarily cultural in methodology and frequently includes the use of visual arts and material culture. My geographic interests have been more quantitative and cartographic. My work with historical GIS have included mapping and analysis of the socio-economic consequences of disasters, the potential distribution of invasive mollusks, the potential impacts of climate change on monarch butterfly overwintering in central Mexico, and an historical reconstruction of female landholdings in south Louisiana.

My teaching emphasizes local and global historical changes. I have taught courses on Global History from a European Perspective, the history of cartography (taught with a QGIS lab), Global Environmental History, the global history of natural disasters, an introduction to the principles of environmental studies, environmental ethics, and historical methodologies. I am currently developing a service learning course on the history of environmental inequalities. These courses emphasize digital skills, which are featured in online atlases, maps, and digital exhibits.

I have received several fellowships and awards for teaching and research including an NSF IGERT (Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship) fellowship and an NSF DDRIG.  I worked with Dr. Petra van Dam at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam during a Fulbright (2011-2012) in the Netherlands. I am currently preparing a manuscript, entitled “Floods, Worms, and Cattle Plague: Natural Disaster at the Closing of the Dutch Golden Age, 1672-1765” for publication. This work melds multiple thematic interests, including cultural memory, Dutch decline, the perception of environmental change and disaster, and the role of historical continuity vs. adaptive response to disasters.

I am currently an Assistant Professor of History and Digital Humanities at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.