Max is a second-year PhD student, an NSF Graduate Research fellow, and an AAS National Osterbrock Leadership fellow at Columbia University. His work primarily focuses on the connection between simulations and cosmological analyses. Max's path to academia was highly nonlinear and involved many years traveling the country, working on organic farms, and managing environmental non-profit fundraising offices. He returned to Cabrillo Community College, where he was inspired to pursue physics and astronomy. After obtaining associate degrees in Math and History, he transferred to U.C. Berkeley and completed a Bachelor of Arts with majors in Physics and Astronomy. He then spent a year at Columbia University solely focussing on research with Zoltan Haiman, after which he enrolled as a graduate student. Max is passionate about science, communication, outreach, and the arts.