Robert began his career in publishing with the Iron and Steel Society (now the Association for Iron and Steel Technology), where he rose to the position of Graphics/Production Manager. His passion for geology led him to pursue a BA degree from Slippery Rock University and an MS from Ohio State University, where he focused on petrology and economic geology.

As a geologist, he spent several years in environmental and engineering consulting, much of that time as an EPA contractor. From there, he moved into the oil and gas industry, working for a company that provided seismic exploration services. Throughout that time, he maintained his interest in economic geology and metallic mineral exploration. He is currently advancing a potentially economic copper discovery in the western U.S.

Robert is a past president of both the Pittsburgh Geological Society and the Geophysical Society of Pittsburgh. He is also a member of the Society of Economic Geologists.

He developed an interest in climate science in the early 1990s while attending Ohio State. His early career in publishing led him to assist with graphics and editing for the CO₂ Coalition for former executive director Gregory Wrightstone’s Inconvenient Facts and A Very Convenient Warming. He also edited CO₂ Coalition member Andy May’s The Great Climate Change Debate: Happer Versus Karoly and assisted in the preparation of Will Happer’s biography by Will Wickerson.