Peter studied at the University of Bristol where he received a BSc (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering in 1975 and a PhD in 1979. He was elected to FREng in 2006. He moved to Imperial College London in 1981.

In 1986, Peter completed a Diploma with Distinction in Teaching and Course Development in Higher Education from the Institute of Education, University of London.

In 2010 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.