Jay Keasling

Jay Keasling is a Professor of Chemical engineering and Bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley, an Associate Laboratory Director for Biosciences at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and also chief executive officer of the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBIE). He received his PhD in Bernhard Palsson’s lab at University of Michigan and was a post-doc with Arthur Kornberg at Stanford University. The Keasling lab focuses on the bioengineering of microorganisms to enhance biofuel extraction from plant biomass and improve environmental clean-up strategies. Keasling has received numerous honors for his work over the years, including most recently the Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy and Employment (2012), the George Washington Carver Award (2013), and the ENI Renewable Energy Prize (2014). Dr Keasling was also elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in 2014.