Every day Peter Underhill, Ph.D., goes to work and brings humanity one step closer to understanding its past. Peter is a senior research scientist at Stanford University's Department of Genetics.

"Basically, we're reconstructing the story of human history," He explained. "Our research is like the laboratory equivalent of going back in history with a time machine."

The time machine, in this case, is the Y chromosome. Every man has one. It's only recently, however, that the Y chromosome has been used to map human evolution. It took Peter to make that happen. In the late '90s the Humboldt State alum pioneered a research method that revealed the Y chromosome's story-telling potential.

Peter patented a process of quickly comparing the 60 million base pairs of nucleotides on one Y chromosome with the 60 million pairs on other men's Y chromosomes. The process is known as Denaturing High Performance Liquid Chromatography and until he popularized it, finding mutations was, as Peter puts it, "...a lot like moving a mountain with a teaspoon."

To date, 500 Y chromosome mutations have been discovered. Peter's own lab has played a major role in finding many of the genetic markers, which is one reason his own name is commonly cited in genetics textbooks and journals.

"It's gratifying to see our findings used in forensics kits, or genealogy projects, or being discussed on the Discovery Channel," says Peter. "It's been a fun ride and I've been exceptionally fortunate to have experienced it."