His education included an Associate Science degree from Oakland Community College, Michigan, where he graduated Cum Laude; a B.S. in Solid Earth Sciences from Purdue University, where he met his wife Indira during their freshman year; an M.S. in Geophysics, Purdue University; and a Ph.D. in Geological Sciences specializing in Seismology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, 1995.