After receiving his B.A. from Colgate University in 1981, Dr. Phillips explored architecture and classical guitar before attending the University of Illlinois at Chicago. He received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from UIC for research on modern sedimentary processes and environments at ice contact deltas in Glacier Bay, Alaska. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Delaware, College of Marine studies, and as a consultant on environmental geology and watershed issues prior to joining the Illinois State Geological Survey in 1998.