Derek currently resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his wife Erin and their cat. In addition to his “official” research interests, he enjoys studying pattern formation, self-assembly, fractal structures, meteorology, geography, game theory, planetary astronomy, science education and the interface of science and religion. When not bombarding his mind with new and fascinating information, Derek is prone to choral singing, cooking, hiking, camping, reading sci-fi, ultimate frisbee, gardening, or playing strategic board games. Derek grew up in southeastern Minnesota, and scoffs at what most of the rest of the country considers “winter”. He’s also lived in Kansas and Massachusetts, and even spent one summer researching in Stuttgart, Germany.