Prior to his academic career, he was an analyst for the National Security Agency from 1955 to 1966. He was a Lecturer and then Professor of Linguistics at the University of Connecticut from 1966 to 1996 and a researcher at Haskins Laboratories from 1966 until his death in 2004. He is best known for his pioneering work on speech synthesis  and reading and for his theoretical work on the motor theory of speech perception in conjunction with Alvin Liberman .
Before entering academia, he worked as an analyst for the National Security Agency from 1955 to 1966. From 1966 until his death in 2004, he was a Lecturer and then Professor of Linguistics at the University of Connecticut and conducted research at Haskins Laboratories. He is recognized for his contributions to speech synthesis, reading, and motor theory of speech perception.