Blake Simmons

Professor, University of Queensland , Australia

Dr. Blake Simmons as the Chief Scientific and Technology Officer and Vice President of the Deconstruction Division at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) in Emeryville. After earning his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Washington, Dr. Simmons pursued his doctorate in the same field at Tulane University.

Dr. Simmons spent 15 years as part of the Senior Management team at Sandia National Laboratories, where he most recently held the roles of Senior Manager of Advanced Biomanufacturing and Biomass Program Manager. In February 2016, he joined Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as the Division Director of Biological Systems and Engineering. Additionally, he is an Adjunct Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Queensland, Australia.

His expertise spans advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals, biomanufacturing, ionic liquids, abiotic-biotic interfaces, biomass pretreatment, enzyme engineering, biofuel cells, templated nanomaterials, microfluidics, desalination, and biomineralization.