Michael is an American born musician, author, and scientist, who uses music and poetry as celebration, as the simple footprints of an unfolding journey. Using Native Peoples and World Music styles, he weaves a tapestry of humble sounds from his voyages into the natural world with the spiritual experiences these journeys evoke. Many of these experiences draw from close contact with Orcas, humpback whales, and dolphins, while others emerge from the jungles of the Yucatan, the forests of the Rockies, the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, the waters of British Columbia, the Soaring landscapes of Costa Rica, and lands beyond.

Still others flow from his encounters with those who inhabit these sacred lands. This includes the indigenous peoples of the Lakota, Cuna, Emberá, Q'ero, Māori, Blackfoot, Lummi, Seneca, Kwakiutl, Kwakwaka'wakw, Navajo, Hopi, Mayan, Ojibwe, and other nations. His journeys with the painter and naturalist Torrey Lystra (whose art adorns this site) are further reflected in a merging of Michael's music rooted in the Native American flute and the mystical story hidden within the paintings.

Michael is formally trained in molecular medicine, biochemistry, and neuroscience. His work is focused on the application of systems theory and pattern recognition in molecular medicine, physiology, and neuroscience to humans in extreme conditions. Michael did his Ph.D. research in molecular medicine at NASA Ames Research Center. He did a second Ph.D. (neuroscience) at Lancaster University (UK) with additional studies at MIT (data, models, artificial neural networks). He is the founder of Sovaris Aerospace and co-chair of the Advanced Pattern Analysis & Human Performance Group, focused on molecular assessment and countermeasures for orbital, Lunar, Mars, and deep space missions. This work also includes molecular profiling of elite athletes, spanning the NFL, NBA, US Olympic teams, and military Special Forces. His scientific paper, “Optimizing human performance in extreme environments through precision medicine: From spaceflight to high-performance operations on Earth” (Cambridge, Precision Medicine) exemplifies the focus of his work. He is also the co-editor of the textbook “Building a Space Faring Civilization: Advancing the Renaissance of Science, Medicine, and Human Performance in Civilian Spaceflight” (Elsevier, 2024). In addition, Michael chairs the Health and Human Performance committee for the Human Research Program for Civilian Spaceflight and Habitation with the support of the US National Space Council.

In addition to his academic and research work, Michael also does leadership training--sometimes in exotic settings, such as those where the extraordinary may occur naturally. He is experienced in open water/ocean kayaking, alpine mountaineering, high altitude research, and wilderness medicine, including work with groups such as the Mayo Clinic. He has also spent 25 years studying Orcas, humpback whales, and dolphins in the wild, which includes documentary film work. He lives in Boulder, Colorado.