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Gevo's Advisors
Dickinson Professor of Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry, California Institute of Technology
Dr. Frances Arnold is the Dickinson Professor of chemical engineering and biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology and is a world-recognized expert in directed evolution, biocatalysis and protein engineering. In 2005, she co-founded Gevo Inc. and now serves the company as a consultant, board member, and science advisory board member.
In May of 2008, Frances was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, an honor that is considered one of the highest accolades in the scientific world. She is also a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine, making her one of only eight living individuals and the only woman to have been elected to all three branches of the National Academies.
Barber Advisors, LLC
Dr. James Barber served as president and CEO of Metabolix, Inc. from January 2000 to May 2007. During this period, he led the transformation of Metabolix from a research boutique to a world-renowned leader in “clean tech” and industrial biotechnology, with a publicly traded market cap of over $500 million. He negotiated a highly attractive joint venture arrangement with Archer Daniels Midland for commercializing Metabolix’s first product platform, MirelTM natural plastics, and took the company public in November 2006.
Prior to joining Metabolix, he served as global business director for the Organometallics and Catalysts business of Albemarle Corporation, with global P&L responsibility for that $100+ million business, and as representative director of Nippon Aluminum Alkyls, a joint venture Company between Albemarle and Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.
Prior to his position with Albemarle, James served as director of business development with Ethyl Corporation; as president of Geltech, Inc.; and as COO of Hyperion Catalysis International.
He received the American Chemical Society’s Henry F. Whalen, Jr. Award for business development in September 2003.
He earned a B.S. degree in chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1976, and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1980.
The Dow Chemical Company (Retired)
Dr. Dave E. Henton graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Missouri in 1967 and went on to receive a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Kansas University in 1973. He then spent 20 years in the plastics department of The Dow Chemical Company developing new products and processes, including patented technology used to produce ABS resins and polymer blends that Dow sells millions of pounds of annually. His last eight years at Dow were spent in the Corporate R&D Materials Department as a senior scientist developing technology for PET, thermoplastic composites, nylon fibers, and polylactic acid.
Dave holds over 30 U.S. patents and has written numerous journal articles and book chapters on catalytic reactions, polymers and plastics. He was the chairman of Dow’s Materials Technical Advisory Board until he retired in 2004. He received the ACS Award for Outstanding Achievement and Promotion of the Chemical Sciences (1999), the ACS Regional Innovation Award (2004) and many internal Dow awards.
President and CEO of Catalytic Insights, LLC
Dr. Leo E. Manzer is president and CEO of Catalytic Insights LLC, a consulting company specializing in the field of catalysis and process research, with an emphasis on biomass to fuels and chemicals.
After receiving his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Western Ontario, Leo joined the DuPont Company in Wilmington, DE. During his career at DuPont, he founded and directed the Corporate Catalysis Center and led DuPont’s R&D efforts to replace chlorofluorocarbons with ozone friendly substitutes. In 2005, he retired from the DuPont Company as a DuPont Fellow, a position held by only 15 of 3,000 scientists and engineers.
Leo is the author of 89 publications and originator of 115 U.S. patents and more than 500 international patents. He has received a number of awards, including: the ACS Earle B. Barnes Award (1995), the Catalysis Club of Philadelphia Award (1997), the ACS Heroes of Chemistry Award (1997), the Cross-Canada Lecture Tour Award from the Catalysis Division of the Chemical Institute of Canada (1998), the Eugene J. Houdry Award for Applied Catalysis from the North American Catalysis Society (2001), and the ACS E. V. Murphree Award (2003). Leo was also a member of the DuPont team recognized for the 2002 Presidential National Medal of Technology Award for his work in developing CFC alternatives.
Founder, Green Capitol, LLC
Since late 2006, Lloyd Ritter has managed Green Capitol, LLC, a consultancy specializing in clean energy and environmental public affairs. The company provides a broad range of services, including strategic planning, corporate counseling, education and outreach, policy development, and government relations. The firm has a very targeted focus on renewables, energy efficiency and sustainable development.
Prior to forming Green Capitol, Ritter was a senior counsel to Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, advising the senator and other Democrats on various policy matters. Ritter was Sen. Harkin’s principal architect for the first-ever energy title to the 2002 farm bill, which was hailed as landmark legislation by the Alliance to Save Energy. The title created and funded expansive programs for renewable energy and energy efficiency to benefit the farm and rural economy, sustainability and national security. While still on Capitol Hill, Lloyd became heavily involved in the successful passage of the first national Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), as well as amendments in the 2005 energy bill that promoted biomass and wind power.
Lloyd served several years as a judge for the White House Closing the Circle sustainability awards. He has also worked for, or served in a senior advisory role to, numerous environmental and energy NGO's. Earlier in his career he was a VP at a national public affairs firm specializing in pro-environment, energy and consumer issues.
Lloyd currently serves on the board of a small public health organization promoting dystonia awareness, improved treatment and cure. He holds a B.A. in political science and a J.D. with certificates in environmental and international law.
SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY, FLANDERS INSTITUTE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
Dr. Johan Thevelein earned his Ph.D. at the K.U. Leuven in Belgium in 1981. Subsequently, he served for two years with Robert Shulman conducting postdoctoral work at Yale University. Upon his return to K.U. Leuven, he was appointed permanent researcher of the Belgian National Science Foundation, became an assistant professor in 1986, and was appointed full professor in 1996. In 2002 his lab was selected as the new Department of Molecular Microbiology at the VIB (Flanders Institute of Biotechnology) and he was appointed as its scientific director.
Johan’s research focuses on nutrient-sensing and signaling pathways in yeast, mechanisms of stress tolerance, and on development of novel industrial yeast strains. He has made seminal contributions to his field with the discovery of several plasma membrane nutrient sensors – activated by fermentable sugars, amino acids, ammonium and phosphate – as well as elucidation of their action mechanisms. He made major breakthroughs in osmostress response and tolerance with the cloning of the main gene for glycerol biosynthesis and the discovery of the plasma membrane glycerol facilitator. Johan’s group has developed a powerful new technology for polygenic analysis in yeast, which is now being applied to various commercially important properties of industrial yeast strains used in the production of bio-ethanol, bakers' yeast and several alcoholic beverages.
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