Peter has a PhD in Environmental Science from University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) in the Marine, Estuarine, Environmental Sciences program. He has more than 30 years of experience in the environmental sector working in municipal, state, and federal government agencies, NGO’s, the private and academic sectors. He has worked for the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin focusing on the tidal freshwater Anacostia and Potomac River’s urban ecologies for 4 years and the District of Columbia City Government’s Water Quality, Watershed Protection and Fisheries and Wildlife Divisions for 9 years where he did the same.  A one year stint between the Commission and DC Government focused on a large greenhouse scale Biosphere 2 mesocosm beta test of the Florida Everglades and Gulf Coast at the Smithsonian Institution’s Marine Systems Lab in Washington, DC which connected him with the inventor of the Algal Turf Scrubber ecotechnology.  For 11 years he worked for a Baltimore based ecological engineering firm focusing on urban restoration ecology nationally in Baltimore, Washington, DC, San Francisco, New York City and Philadelphia among other smaller cities and for 7 years as an adjunct professor/lecturer at UMD. 

Currently Peter is an Assistant Research Professor in the Environmental Science and Technology Department, a researcher for the Algal Ecotechnology Center and a Faculty Affiliate with the Landscape Architecture Department at University of Maryland, College Park. He has an extensive background in systems ecology, ecological engineering, emergy analysis/environmental accounting and has taught undergraduate and graduate classes in Ecosystem Ecology, Water Quality, Carbon Management, Applied Ecology, and Environmental Science and leads a regular study abroad course in the city and state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, while leading and assisting with UMD Engineers Without Borders in Sierra Leone, Africa. Peter has been awarded UMD Outstanding Alumnus, Mentorship and Service distinctions. He has been a part of winning design teams for four national EPA Campus Rainworks efforts, an American Institute of Architects Resilient Urban Neighborhood Competition and a first place nationally and second place internationally for the 2017 US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. Currently he is also a co-founder and mentor with Green Mechanics Benefit LLC.