Doug received his B.S. in Physics at Carnegie Mellon University and his Ph.D. in Physics at The Ohio State University. He joined the faculty at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2016 as the Department Head and Professor of Physics. Prior to that, he was a member of the faculty at Wright State University for 14 years, Chair of the Physics Department from 2012-2016, served as faculty vice president in the 2015-16 academic year, and held a joint appointment with the Electrical Engineering Department from 2008 to 2013.

His research focuses on the development of millimeter-wave and terahertz systems for sensing applications, including high-resolution gas phase molecular spectroscopy, imaging, nondestructive evaluation, subsurface sensing, and micro-Doppler biometric studies. Recent spectroscopy research involved the development of a multi-physics MEMS-based photoacoustic spectroscopic sensor system that miniaturizes the sensing platform for use in in-situ gas-phase spectroscopy applications. He has developed active THz imaging systems and studied the associated phenomenological and a mobile millimeter-wave radar platform that can monitor respiration and heart rates. Doug and his colleagues have been fortunate to receive external support for research from a variety of agencies and he has been an author on more than 50 publications.

At WSU and WPI, he has been active in several STEM education initiatives. The goal of several Teaching Innovation Grants has been to transform physics pedagogy and providing faculty with the professional development resources needed to improve student learning. He has directed several STEM education programs that provided undergraduates with research (REU) and experiential learning opportunities to prepare them for graduate school and the workforce. He has also participated in a number of K-12 STEM pipeline and educational initiatives. He is a member of APS, OSA, IEEE, AAPT, SPIE, and CUR.