Peterson received a Doctor of Philosophy in 1980 from the University of Illinois, and has published over 200 scientific papers in dendroclimatology, ozone air pollution, climate change and adaptation to global warming, and decision support systems for fire management.
He was invited to serve on the board of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Recently Peterson has become a lead investigator for forest ecosystems for the <National Climate Assessment, and lead author for the first comprehensive guidebook for adapting to climate change on United States. forest lands. Peterson is co-author of three books: Ecological Scale: Theory and Applications (1998), Human Ecology and Climate Change (1995), and Climate Change and United States Forests (2014).
He is also a co-founder and lead scientist for the Western Mountain Initiative, a consortium of researchers known world-wide for their work on the effects of climate change on mountain ecosystems. He has also received awards: from the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO), the "Chief"s Award", the highest honor within the United States Forest Service, and honorary life membership in the Northwest Scientific Association for his leadership in research in the Pacific Northwest, United States of America.
