My field of study is discrete dynamical systems and ergodic theory, wherein we study the behavior of systems that change over time. The underlying question for a particular system is how predictable or chaotic the behavior is and that can be classified in terms of either topological properties or probabilistic ones. Early work of mine developed a topological classification of a particular type of function called cellular automata that operates on a symbolic space: points in this space consist of an assignment of a state from a finite set to each integer lattice point in n-space. Cellular automata are functions that update each state simultaneously at each time step according to a single rule. Recent work has focused on modeling using stochastic cellular automata, related objects that are not deterministic maps but ones that select from a finite list of rules to apply at each location and at each time step. With Donna Molinek, Davidson College, and Jane Hawkins, UNC CH Emerita, I have analyzed a model for HIV within the lymph nodes, developed and analyzed a model for Ebola within an organ. Currently, my professional focus is on mathematics education and best practices in teaching.