Biographical sketch

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I'm currently a fifth-year graduate student in the Linguistics Department at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. My research is in the area of phonology and phonetics, with foci on how phonological and phonetic knowledge influence speech perception, and on the analysis of tone (esp. in Bantu languages).

I'm originally from Endwell, a town (actually, an incorporated settlement) outside of Binghamton in central New York, that owes its name to a shoe once produced by Endicott-Johnson shoe factory. I'm the only child born to two teachers, who deserve all the credit for patiently answering to my incessant need to ask 'why?'. After graduating from high school in 2001, I attended the University at Albany, where I planned to study atmospheric science. I was introduced to linguistics in a course I took with Lee Bickmore in my first semester at UAlbany. He taught me a lot about phonology and got me interested in tone. Aaron Broadwell taught me syntax and got me involved in his fieldwork on pied-piping. I graduated from UAlbany in 2004, and have been pursuing my PhD at UMass since then.

When I take off my linguist hat, I enjoy playing sports (golf, basketball, soccer), watching sports, playing around with Linux, team trivia, beermaking, and poker.