First and foremost, I study bird migration. And I do this primarily in two ways: by lifting binoculars to watch birds literally move from one place to another, and by taking advantage of incredible and rapid 20th and 21st century technological advances in radar and acoustic remote sensing and machine learning and computational resources.

For the former, I have worked closely with a cadre of Cornell Lab and external collaborators to understand patterns of bird movements by examining observations from a growing and increasingly diverse armada of participatory and community scientists. For the latter, I have mentored elementary students to postdoctoral fellows in ornithological, ecological, and data science disciplines and built academic and stakeholder partnerships to advance our understanding of bird migration patterns.

I also work closely with media relations and outreach to connect this type of science and its interpretations and methods to education, conservation actions, and awareness.