Ethan is a Research Scientist at the SETI Institute. He specializes in geospatial technology and software and algorithm development, with a focus in planetary and geological applications. His tools include GIS, image analysis, computer vision, graph theory, computational geometry, and fractal analysis, and he plans to expand into Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning. He also has extensive experience with NASA's Planetary Data System PDS4 standard, having served on the Data Design Working Group for over three years as part of the Geosciences Node.

His geologic research experience spans a variety of surface processes on Earth, Mars, and other planetary bodies, including recurring slope lineae (RSL), lava flows, river geometry, and glaciers. Quantifying landscapes and understanding how they came to be remains a passion for Ethan.