He was instrumental in the creation of the museum’s world-renowned Hall of Gems and Minerals, which opened in 1978, and through the years he has implemented many additions and improvements to the gallery.
He conducts research principally in the areas of descriptive mineralogy, crystal chemistry, and structural crystallography — focusing on the characterization of new or inadequately described minerals and is the U.S. delegate to the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature, and Classification of the International Mineralogical Association.