Blake Simmons Elected to National Academy of Inventors

Blake Simmons, Director of the Biological Systems and Engineering Division of the Biosciences Area of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Chief Science & Technology Officer at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), is among 170 new fellows of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) for 2024.

Simmons’ work and contributions span from bioenergy and biotechnology to biomanufacturing and nanotechnology. Research led by Simmons is focused on using ionic liquids, or molten salts, to break down the structural portions of plants to access sugars that can be converted into biofuels and bioproducts.

The NAI was founded in 2012 to recognize and encourage inventors with U.S. patents. The 2024 cohort of Fellows exemplifies the Academy’s belief that groundbreaking innovation knows no bounds and inventors can be found everywhere. The 2024 Fellows hail from 135 research universities, governmental and non-profit research institutions worldwide and their work spans across multiple disciplines.

The process Simmons and his team have developed is able to efficiently convert hardwoods, softwoods, agricultural residues, and dedicated bioenergy crops such as switchgrass and sorghum. The key to their breakthrough was the discovery of ionic liquids as a way to pretreat and deconstruct the dense plant material. Simmons’ group has also made significant advances in developing enzymes and microbes that are able to complement the ionic liquid biomass conversion technology. This is a critical advancement in the development of a cost-effective technology suitable for commercialization. This work culminated into the first major advancement in the field in over 50 years, where conventional approaches were previously unable to meet commercial demands.

“This approach represents a potential “game changer” with enormous commercial impact and represents some of the most exciting and innovative scientific work in bioproduct and biofuel production,” said Jay Keasling, CEO of JBEI, a U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Center.

Simmons joined Berkeley Lab in 2016, having previously been a part of the senior management team at Sandia National Lab for 15 years. He studied chemical engineering at the University of Washington and Tulane University, and currently is an adjunct professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Queensland in Australia. Simmons has authored 450 publications, 1 book, and 45 patents. He has been the recipient of multiple awards, including two Secretary of Energy Achievement Awards (2018 and 2021), election to the College of Fellows for AIMBE and Sigma Xi, and the Tulane University Outstanding Young Alumnus in Science and Engineering Award. He is also the founder of three startups, Illium Technologies, Caribou Biofuels, and Erg Bio.

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