I am currently working on the following projects:

In Aramaic Studies:

DARIUS: The Digital Aramaic Research Initiative for Students

A learning tool that incorporates modern language learning techniques geared towards the Aramaic languages (both ancient and modern).

Addressing Modern Myths About the Aramaic Language: A Survey of Internet Popular Culture (working title)

Abstract: On the internet, a large number of myths, misconceptions, and falsified information about the Aramaic language exists for a variety of reasons in popular internet culture. This paper explores several select issues, their origins and proposes a method whereby the scholarly community can effectively deal with them on both social and academic levels.

A yet unnamed article on the difficulties of encoding Aramaic texts into computer-readable formats, and how Unicode may be more of a hindrance than a help.

Redesigning and Updating the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon

Working with Dr. Steve Kaufman of Hebrew Union College in Cincinatti through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, I’m in the midst of sorting through, documenting, planning, prioritizing, and redesigning the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon.

Translating the Mandean Book of John

Working with Dr. James McGrath of Butler University, Dr. Charles Häberl of Rutgers University and Dr. April DeConick of Rice University to translate the Drashia D-Iahia into English for the first time. Funded by a $130,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

In Biblical Studies:

The Biblioblog Reference Library & Biblioblog Top 50

In an effort to better follow everything going on amongst Biblical scholars who blog, I put together a single blog that syndicates all 280+ blog feeds listed on the Biblioblog Top 50 into a single blog with a single RSS feed. From there, I was invited to manage the official Biblioblg Top 50 list of blogs.

Miscellaneous:

“New Jersey Tea” (Ceanothus americanus)

An effort in “archeo-botany” to uncover and recreate how the New Jersey Tea plant was used as a tea substitute during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, as well as explore how the plant could be made commercially viable.

Various Local Mycological Curiosities

Every year this blog becomes my mushroom journal, cataloging my hobby work in amateur mycology.