Blake Simmons, JBEI’s Chief Science & Technology Officer and Vice President for Deconstruction, has been elected into the 2025 class of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He is recognized for his “distinguished contributions to the field of microbiology and biotechnology, particularly for the discovery and characterization of novel microbial biomass active enzymes, enzyme engineering, and advanced biomass pretreatment methods.”
AAAS awards this lifetime honor to scientists, engineers, and innovators for distinguished achievements that advance science or its applications. Fellows are selected through a nomination and review process. Founded in 1848, AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society. The 2025 fellows class includes 449 scientists, engineers, and innovators spanning 24 scientific disciplines.
Simmons’ work and contributions span from bioenergy and biotechnology to biomanufacturing and nanotechnology. Research led by Simmons is focused on biomass deconstruction and conversion, enzyme engineering, tailoring advanced solvents for biomass pretreatment, abiotic-biotic interfaces, biofuels, renewable chemicals, and biomanufacturing technologies.
Simmons is the Director of the Biological Systems and Engineering Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He joined the Lab in 2016, having previously been a part of the senior management team at Sandia National Laboratories 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 452 publications, one book, and 52 patents. He has been the recipient of multiple awards, including two Secretary of Energy Achievement Awards (2018 and 2021), election to the 2024 class of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), 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 co-founder of three startups, Illium Technologies, CARIBOU Biofuels, and Erg Bio.