Michael started his studies at Arizona State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in 2005 and a Master of Science in 2007. He worked at the ASU Unsteady Wind Tunnel in his early undergraduate years and later in the ASU Taylor-Vortex Laboratory as a senior and graduate student.

His research considers experimental problems in nonlinear dynamics, specifically Taylor-Couette flows. The Taylor-Vortex Laboratory travelled with him from ASU, which he is presently reassembling and expanding for his PhD dissertation research.