Dr. Pearl is an Assistant Professor and the Director of the Maritime Studies Program at Texas A&M University in Galveston. He is jointly appointed to the departments of General Academics and Marine Sciences, and has graduate affiliations with the Department of Marine Sciences in Galveston and the Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University in College Station. He received his B.A. from San Diego State University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. His current field projects are in American Samoa and eastern Polynesia.