Peter Dold is the president of EnviroSim Associates Ltd., developers of the BioSim and BioWin dynamic wastewater treatment plant simulators. These are being used worldwide by consulting engineering firms, water companies and municipalities as tools to aid in process analysis, design, control and operation. He also is an adjunct professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. Dr. Dold is engaged in a range of research projects dealing with wastewater treatment problems and is involved as a consultant in many municipal and industrial projects, including several involving biological nutrient removal (BNR).

After graduating from Chemical Engineering at the University of Cape Town, Peter embarked on a career in environmental engineering. In 1978 he commenced graduate studies at UCT under the supervision of Professor Gerrit Marais, obtaining the Ph.D. degree in 1982. Areas of interest during this period centered on activated sludge process modeling and system control.

In 1983 Peter joined the faculty of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Cape Town as a senior lecturer. This followed a spell of post-doctoral research with Dr. John Andrews at Rice University, Houston. Until he left Cape Town in 1989, Peter conducted research into various aspects of wastewater treatment jointly with Dr. Marais. Other colleagues in the research team included Drs. George Ekama, Mark Wentzel and Dick Loewenthal. The research endeavors of the University of Cape Town Group during this time addressed a range of municipal and industrial wastewater treatment problems relating to activated sludge treatment systems (particularly those designed for nutrient removal), anaerobic systems and aspects of process control. A major focus of Dr. Dold's research was mathematical modeling of activated sludge systems. Between 1983 and 1987 he was actively involved in development of the well-known IAWPRC activated sludge model.

Peter Dold joined McMaster University in 1989 as an NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Environmental Systems Engineering. He continues to expand his research interests in wastewater treatment. Since 1997 Peter has maintained a part-time position at McMaster, and continues to supervise graduate students working on a range of projects with particular emphasis on biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal activated sludge systems. A milestone has been development of a general mathematical model for systems incorporating organics removal, nitrification, denitrification and biological phosphorus removal. This was the first comprehensive mechanistic kinetic model of this type. Dr. Dold is the author or co-author of more than a hundred research papers and comprehensive research reports.

Dr. Dold is actively involved in a range of consulting activities in Europe, Australia and North America, with an emphasis on full-scale biological nutrient removal systems analysis and design. He has hands-on experience in the installation of computer control systems at full-scale and has been consulted as a technical expert in legal matters relating to phosphorus removal wastewater treatment systems.