Dr. Peter May, PhD
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Low Impact Design Expert & Landscape Architect
Peter has a PhD in Environmental Science from the 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, NGOs, and 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 four years, and for the District of Columbia City Government’s Water Quality, Watershed Protection, and Fisheries and Wildlife Divisions for nine years, where he focused on similar issues. Between those roles, he spent a year at the Smithsonian Institution’s Marine Systems Lab in Washington, DC, contributing to a large greenhouse-scale Biosphere 2 mesocosm beta test of the Florida Everglades and Gulf Coast. This work connected him with the inventor of the Algal Turf Scrubber ecotechnology. For eleven years, Peter worked for a Baltimore-based ecological engineering firm focusing on urban restoration ecology in cities including Baltimore, Washington, DC, San Francisco, New York City, and Philadelphia, among others. He also served for seven years as an adjunct professor and 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 the University of Maryland, College Park. He has an extensive background in systems ecology, ecological engineering, and emergy analysis/environmental accounting. He 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 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He also assists with UMD Engineers Without Borders projects in Sierra Leone, Africa.
Peter has received UMD Outstanding Alumnus, Mentorship, and Service distinctions. He has contributed to winning design teams for four national EPA Campus Rainworks competitions, the American Institute of Architects Resilient Urban Neighborhood Competition, and the 2017 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, where his team placed first nationally and second internationally. He is also a co-founder and mentor with Green Mechanics Benefit LLC.
Interested in working together?
If one of our services caught your eye or you're ready to start something new, we're here to help. Reach out and let’s see what we can build together.
Interested in working together?
If one of our services caught your eye or you're ready to start something new, we're here to help. Reach out and let’s see what we can build together.
Dr. Peter May, PhD
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Chief Scientist & Ecologocial Engineer
Peter has a PhD in Environmental Science from the 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, NGOs, and 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 four years, and for the District of Columbia City Government’s Water Quality, Watershed Protection, and Fisheries and Wildlife Divisions for nine years, where he focused on similar issues. Between those roles, he spent a year at the Smithsonian Institution’s Marine Systems Lab in Washington, DC, contributing to a large greenhouse-scale Biosphere 2 mesocosm beta test of the Florida Everglades and Gulf Coast. This work connected him with the inventor of the Algal Turf Scrubber ecotechnology. For eleven years, Peter worked for a Baltimore-based ecological engineering firm focusing on urban restoration ecology in cities including Baltimore, Washington, DC, San Francisco, New York City, and Philadelphia, among others. He also served for seven years as an adjunct professor and 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 the University of Maryland, College Park. He has an extensive background in systems ecology, ecological engineering, and emergy analysis/environmental accounting. He 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 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He also assists with UMD Engineers Without Borders projects in Sierra Leone, Africa.
Peter has received UMD Outstanding Alumnus, Mentorship, and Service distinctions. He has contributed to winning design teams for four national EPA Campus Rainworks competitions, the American Institute of Architects Resilient Urban Neighborhood Competition, and the 2017 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, where his team placed first nationally and second internationally. He is also a co-founder and mentor with Green Mechanics Benefit LLC.
