Peter joined Swinburne in late 2010. He heads The Polymer NanoInterface Engineering Group that has a strong emphasis on controlling the interfacial interactions of biological materials with advanced material surfaces. The focus will be development of new 1, 2 and 3D surface micro- and nanopatterning approaches aimed at improving our understanding of how biology and man-made materials interact with each other. Application areas include:

1) Surfaces of medical implants
2) Surfaces for infection control
3) Surfaces for tissue engineered devices
4) Surfaces for regenerative medicine
5) Surfaces for nanoparticles in drug delivery
6) Surfaces for biosensors
7) Surfaces for minimizing industrial biofouling

Peter is also Deputy Director of SEAM, The Australian Research Council, Industrial Transformation Training Centre on “Surface Engineering for Advanced Materials” that will run from 2019-2024 (www.arcseam.com.au).

Peter left Australia in 1999 after completing his PhD and a postdoc at CSIRO Molecular Science, where he worked on developing new antifouling contact lens surfaces. Part of his research involved adapting the MALDI-TOF technique, together with other CSIRO scientists, to be able to directly detect and identify proteins adsorbed to surfaces. This new way of looking at biointerfaces drastically improved our understanding of the molecular interactions taking place at the biointerface assisting in the design of new biocompatible material surfaces.

After leaving Australia Peter took up postdoc positions at the National ESCA and Surface Analysis Centre for Biomedical Problems (NESAC/BIO) based at The University of Washington in Seattle, and the Centre for Competence in Biomaterials at the RWTH Aachen in Germany. His research focused on developing protein and cell resistant biomaterials surfaces and using extremely sensitive surface analytical techniques to understand the precise role played by surface chemistry in biointerface science. In 2000 Peter moved to Denmark to become a Senior Scientist at The Danish Polymer Centre, Riso National Laboratory, near Copenhagen.

He worked there for 5 years on projects relating to biointerface and polymer surfaces, with a large emphasis being placed on industry collaborations either within large consortia or in smaller protects. Peter moved to the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre (iNANO) at Aarhus University in 2006 as Associate Professor where his group, amongst other activities, set up the surface analysis facility (XPS and ToF-SIMS). It is at this stage Peter's research began to focus on nanoscience and nanotechnology where he started developing new surface patterning techniques based on colloidal crystal layers and using functionalised polymer nanofibers by electrospinning both for life science applications. Many of the projects involved industry partners either as joint PhD projects, integrated R&D projects or broader consortia involving many partners.

Summary of Research Outputs/Publications (April 2024):
1) Number of refereed publications (career) = 205
2) 10 patents
3) 10 book chapters
4) Total number of citations = 10,515
5) H-Factor = 55
6) i10-Index since 2019 = 93