He is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Washington, and a fellow of Trinity College.

He obtained his Licenciatura from Universidad de la Republica in Uruguay in 1987, and his PhD from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1991.

He has lectured several undergraduate and graduate courses and has gained widespread popularity due to his entertaining and informal lecturing style, which has been recognised by the university in the past for its high calibre.

He is known for his work on dynamical and geometrical aspects of Hamiltonian systems, in particular magnetic and geodesic flows.

In his spare time he partakes in a wide variety of sports, notably football.