Peter is a high school biology teacher taking a year off to obtain teaching certification and more thorough background training for his vocation. His central goal as a teacher is to help his students understand how to do science. His work in Dr. Juenger's lab is instrumental to this goal. Peter is helping Dr. Juenger examine drought tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana, and is also investigating the effects of environment on germination across the many Arabidopsis ecotypes. In his spare time, Peter is on a mission to spread appreciation for espresso and caffeine among biologists.