Peter Burns studied Electrical and Computer Engineering (B.Sc. and M.Eng.) and Imaging Science (Ph.D.). A frequent conference presenter and teacher, he is an inventor or co-inventor for 23 US patents and the author of 80+ technical publications. His book contributions include Image Quality Concepts, in the Handbook of Digital Imaging (Wiley, 2014). He was awarded the Davies Medal from the Royal Photographic Society (UK), for contributions to digital imaging, and is a senior life member of IEEE. He is also a fellow of the Society for Imaging Science and Tech. (IS&T), and a senior member.

After working for Xerox, Eastman Kodak, and Carestream Health, he formed Burns Digital Imaging LLC in 2011. BDI provides consulting services for imaging system development and improvement, focusing on performance evaluation, monitoring, and software tools for imaging standards.