I am an anthropologist in the Interplanetary Initiative at ASU, Professor Emeritus in the Program in Human Dimensions of Organizations at the University of Texas at Austin, and Visiting Professor in the Center for International Education at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan. My research focuses on the relationship between science and culture and falls into two streams: life in rural Japan and the culture and ethics of space exploration. I have published numerous scientific papers and several books, including Science, Culture, and the Search for Life on Other Worlds (Springer, 2016) and Cosmopolitan Rurality, Depopulation, and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in 21st Century Japan (Cambria Press, 2020).
In addition to my academic work, I write regularly for general outlets such as The Conversation, The Harvard Business Review, The Daily Beast, Higher Ed Dive, and FutureU. I also co-host a podcast called How To Be Wrong on the New Books Network.