Austin is a fourth-year undergraduate student enrolled in UGA’s applied biotechnology program. He is a non-traditional student who came to the University after obtaining his GED and an associate’s degree in bioscience technology at Gwinnett Technical College. He has been working in laboratory environments since 2014 and is especially familiar with inorganic chemistry and microbiology techniques. He is interested in applying his laboratory skills to assist ecological or conservation research and has completed several undergraduate research studies preparing him for these efforts. Austin joined CAIS in the fall of 2016 as a student worker and became a full-time technician in Summer 2020 in the Plasma Chemistry Laboratory, where he conducted sample preparation for ICP-MS and ICP-OES as well as in DMA-80 mercury analysis.

In his free time, Austin enjoys history, board and video games, amateur artistic pursuits, and the occasional hike, swim, or canoe trip.