About
I am a civil engineer with a Bachelors degree from North Carolina State University, received in May 2007, and a Masters and PhD from the Georgia Institute of Technology, received in December 2010 and December 2012, respectively. I currently am working as a specialist in Network Strategy at Delta Air Lines in Atlanta, Georgia.
At Georgia Tech, I performed research on airline depeaking and its effect on revenue and operations, and received funding under a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and an Airport Cooperative Research Program Graduate Award. Prior to researching and studying at Georgia Tech, I conducted research on the overcrowded urban transportation system in Dhaka, Bangladesh on a U.S. Fulbright Scholarship. I spent the next ten months first as an intern at the Regional Plan Association in New York City as part of the America 2050 project and then as a research assistant at the Institute for Transportation Research and Education in Raleigh.
My professional interests lie in airlines and airports, including airline route planning, scheduling, airport operations, and airport design. Although I am drawn particularly to aviation, I also have interests in passenger railroads and urban transit, regional transportation systems, and large scale infrastructure projects. I have a niche interest in the mapping of road systems and the U.S. Interstate Highways. All transportation topics, however, become instantly interesting to me when they involve developing nations.
I was born in Freehold, New Jersey and lived there until I left for college. My family traveled quite frequently throughout the Eastern seaboard to visit family in Ohio and Florida, so I got to know the roads quite well. As a family we ventured overseas to the United Kingdom, Australia, Costa Rica, and the eastern Caribbean coast. I lived in Raleigh, North Carolina for four years while attending my university, and spent five months of my college career in Cape Town, South Africa studying at the University of Cape Town and traveling all over southern Africa. I spent thirteen months in Dhaka, Bangladesh on a Fulbright Scholarship, and traveled all over the country as well as neighboring nations.
I have participated in endurance sports starting my freshman year at Manalapan High School. I most recently rowed for Georgia Tech Crew. I ran cross country in high school, and switched to collegiate rowing at NCSU. I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the rowing team, and it was the defining piece of my college experience. During my time on the team, I served in the roles of President, Vice President, Captain, and Recruiting Chair, ultimately leading my team as President to earn Club Sport of the Year in 2007. I also spent a summer sculling at Undine Barge Club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A hip injury put a stop in my plans to continue rowing throughout life, so I now enjoy running as well as bicycling, swimming, and weight lifting. Other sports and games I enjoy are badminton kubb, bocce ball, shuffleboard, and backgammon.
I grew up following sports with my family. Despite following the Florida Gators throughout childhood (parents are both alumni) I am now a passionate member of the NC State Wolfpack! Professional sports teams I support are the New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, New Jersey Devils, and New Jersey Nets.
In my high school and college band, Floating Block Technology (formerly Witness and Derailed) I played bass guitar. Although we didn’t release our music, we finished fourth demos. My favorite bands are Radiohead, Metallica, Weezer, Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, Saves the Day, Fall Out Boy, and The Shins.
I have two wonderful parents and a great sister. Dad works for Avaya, and has been with Bell Laboratories since before I was born. He is as avid a bicyclist as I am rower and runner. Mom is a high school librarian at Neptune High School, and enjoys reading books, sewing, and singing along to Broadway tunes. My sister is a music teacher in Tampa and also attended the University of Florida (yes a family of three Gators and one member of the Wolfpack). She plays an uncountable number of instruments.
I am married to Amy Dessel Katz. She is an attorney in Atlanta, Georgia. She grew up in western North Carolina, and attended UNC for law school. We may disagree over the red and white from State and Carolina blue, but we get along in all other ways. We were married in June of 2012 in Miami Beach, Florida.