Jay Keasling, Associate Laboratory Director for Biosciences and CEO of the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), has been named by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a winner of this year’s Eric and Sheila Samson Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation in Alternative Fuels for Transportation. Keasling, who will share the $1 million prize with John Goodenough of the University of Texas, was awarded the prize for his research on biofuels. Israel is one of the world’s strongest supporters of research, development and integration of technologies that can reduce global use of petroleum in transportation.