Peter Venkman holds PhD's in Psychology and Parapsychology, and was engaged in academic research for many years before forming the Ghost Busters franchise with his partners, Dr. Ray Stantz and Dr. Egon Spengler. He was somewhat unusual for a scientist, and perhaps even more so for a parapsychologist. He had never believed in many of the things Stantz and Spengler took for granted, including reincarnation, Bigfoot, clairvoyance, and astral travel. Venkman customarily referred to these as the implied sciences, a phrase which entertained his students almost as much as himself.Venkman entered parapsychology because he found grant money was readily available, and because it was an opportunity to be a pioneer in a field that had few boundaries. There was no map, no structure, and if a thing has no structure, who's to say the one you put up is wrong? In fact, until Dean Yaeger at Columbia University had suddenly snapped off the funding, Venkman had had a fairly successful career studying whatever he wanted to. He moved from one subject to the next, postulated a few theories, spent grant money on confirming them as best he could, and put out books no one bought and even fewer people read.The discovery of confirmable ectoplasmic entities combined with the loss of work drove Venkman into teaming up with the guys as professional paranormal investigators and eliminators. This turned out to be an ideal move, because New York - center of the first franchise, also was on the edge of a cross-dimensional rift that kept the gang working and profiting for the next several months. There was a downturn after they saved the city from Gozer, but things picked up a bit when their former client Dana Barrett's infant son began showing signs of poltergeist activity. Venkman's relationship with Dana was rocky, but ultimately revived by the fight to exorcise NYC of bad vibes. The worst part of being a Ghostbuster, Venkman found, was all the slimy ectoplasm. Show less «