Research Interests:

Before joining the University of Florida, Peter worked as an Assistant and Associate Professor at the Institute of Paper Science and Technology in Atlanta, GA. He is a member of the Genetics Institute and the Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology graduate program at UF. Globally, wood is the most largest and important biomaterial used for biobased products and bioenergy. He is an expert in the genetics of wood formation, and the utilization of wood from forest trees. His current research uses structural and functional genomic approaches to identify the genes that control the chemical composition and mechanical properties of wood. The goal of this applied and fundamental research is to enhance the value of products made from a given acre of wood per unit time by altering wood chemical and mechanical properties for improved utilization in biobased products, bioenergy, and forest carbon sequestration. He has experience conducting research funded by the Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, USDA, USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Industry, and the Sloan Center for Paper Business and Industry Studies. He has excelled in multidisciplinary research conducted by teams of biologists, economists, chemists, physicists, chemical and mechanical engineers. Dr. Peter is author of ~70 journal publications, book chapters, and patents. He serves as an advisor and consultant to the Forest Products Industry. He is a research faculty member at the Sloan Industry Center for Paper Business and Industry Studies at Georgia Institute of Technology.