His doctorate examined how military forces have responded to the threat posed by climate change and he has been active in educating global military leaders for six years through his work with the Australian Defence Force Global Change and Energy Sustainability Initiative, as a Visiting Fellow at the Australian Defence College and as a visiting lecturer at the University of New South Wales and Deakin University.

He has completed climate resilience and capacity building studies at the United Nations University Tokyo and, together with his PhD from the University of New South Wales, holds three separate post-graduate degrees in Oceanography, a Masters in International Relations and a Masters of Management (Defense capability and acquisition).

He was a co-author on the influential 2015 Australian Climate Council publication Be Prepared that addressed climate security risks in the Australian Defense sector. He is the author of The Securitization of Climate Change: Australian and United States’ Military Responses, a book that offers a rare and systematic examination of US and Australian military climate policy and develops a unique method that quantifies climate security, enabling a graphical representation for quick and ready reference ideally suited to policy makers.