Jesse Byock is distinguished professor of Old Norse and Medieval Scandinavian Studies at UCLA and professor at UCLA's Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. He earned his Ph.D. from Harvard and specializes in the languages, archaeology, sagas and history of the Viking World. In Iceland, Dr. Byock directs the Mosfell Archaeological Project (MAP) and teaches at the University of Iceland (Háskóli Íslands) in the Department of History and the Programs of Medieval Icelandic and Viking Studies.