Before becoming Director, Dr. Collins was a professor of atmospheric sciences and served as Associate Director at the Geophysical Institute, where he established new research programs.  As a faculty member, Collins has studied the meteorology of the Arctic atmosphere. Working with UAF students, he has conducted various studies at Poker Flat Research Range (PFRR) that employed rockets, laser radars, and radars. He has served as an advisor to 18 master and doctoral students. These studies have focused on understanding the circulation of the middle and upper atmosphere, dispersion of volcanic ash clouds, clouds and aerosols in the upper atmosphere, and forest fire smoke. Collis participated in one study of fish in the Gulf of Alaska. This work was conducted with support from both NASA, NSF, and DoD. Collins served as a faculty member in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Atmospheric Sciences, where he developed and taught laboratory courses in digital electronics and state-wide distance courses in weather and climate. Collins was a Fulbright fellow at the Leibniz-Institute of Atmospheric Physics at Rostock University in 2006. He has served on national advisory boards for NASA and NSF. Collins received his Bachelor of Engineering from The National University of Ireland in 1986, his MS in Electrical Engineering from Case Western University in 1988, and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois in 1993.