I was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and moved with my family to the U.S. when I was 11. I’ve lived in New York City, upstate New York, San Francisco, Tucson, and now the wonderful Boulder, CO.

I have a Ph.D in Planetary Sciences and currently a NASA-funded postdoc at the University of Colorado. My current research focuses on the early Earth – I’m trying to figure out what the Earth was like at the dawn of life. In the past, I’ve also worked on data analysis from various spacecraft missions, computer modeling, and astrobiology. If any of this interests you, drop me a line – I always enjoy talking about my work.

I live a car-free lifestyle, and typically get around by foot, bike, bus, and an occasional taxi, although I do rent a car occasionally for some out-of-town trips. I live in an apartment right next to downtown Boulder, and I'm very interested in efficient living and reducing my carbon footprint as much as possible.

In my free time, I love traveling, experiencing the world, and meeting new and interesting people. I'm especially fond of long-distance train travel -- in a sleeper, of course -- and travel to a lot of my conferences by train. I'm very adventurous and really enjoy hiking, backpacking, camping, skiing, whitewater rafting, SCUBA diving, and similar activities. I love any kind of adrenaline rush -- I bungy jump whenever I get the chance and I recently received my skydiving license. I love flying and aviation and I'm currently working on my private pilot's license. While I'm generally safety-oriented, on occasion my adventures go too far, like the unfortunate incident a few years back when some friends and I had to be airlifted out of the Alaska wilderness.

More generally, I want to fully experience life, and hopefully contribute to human knowledge somewhere along the way. I'm very open-minded and like new ideas, experiences, exploration, and discovery in all areas of life.

Favorite books: Rendezvous with Rama (& the sequels), Catcher in the Rye, Great Expectations, Slaughterhouse-Five, Robots of Dawn, Battle Royale, Timescape, The Martian Race, Ender's Game, A Man on the Moon, anything by Jules Verne, anything by Carl Sagan

Movies: Blade Runner, Taxi Driver, Battle Royale, Contact, Amelie, Solaris (Tarkovsky’s version), Apollo 13, Titanic, The Breakfast Club, Gattaca, Last Tango in Paris, La Pianiste, Donnie Darko, Memento, October Sky, Office Space, Back to the Future, The Abyss, Fight Club, The Princess Bride, American Beauty, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Twelve Monkeys, Election, The Royal Tenenbaums, Good Will Hunting, Y Tu Mamá También, Borat, There's Something About Mary, Groundhog Day, Shawshank Redemption, Bound, The Matrix, Napoleon Dynamite, Heathers, Pump Up the Volume

I'm not a big fan of "traditional" dates -- dinners, movies, etc. My favorite way to get to know someone is to take them hiking in the mountains near Boulder. That way, there is no pressure, no expectations, just beautiful scenery, good company, and, if nothing else, good exercise. :) Also, definitely contact me if any of the following date ideas (not necessarily for first date) sound good:

* An evening of stargazing and sipping wine.
* A romantic train ride to the mountains, followed by soaking in hot springs.
* Jumping out of a perfectly good airplane or from a perfectly good bridge.
* A scenic flight or a balloon ride.
* A multi-day backpacking adventure in the mountains.
* A surprise trip to a mystery destination.