Joel Cherry, Ph.D., has more than 16 years experience in molecular biology, biochemistry, and enzymology in the biotech industry. Currently he is responsible for coordinating technical programs aimed at commercializing Amyris’ renewable products including diesel, chemicals and jet fuel. Prior to joining Amyris, Cherry was senior director of bioenergy biotechnology at Novozymes. During his tenure, Cherry was a member of the R&D management team specializing in protein engineering and directed evolution technologies. He was also principal investigator and director of the BioEnergy Project, an effort funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to reduce the cost of enzymes used in converting biomass to sugar. This work was awarded an R&D 100 Award, Scientific American Top 50 Award, and a Frost and Sullivan Emerging Technology Award. Cherry has authored over 30 research papers and book chapters and is an inventor on more than 25 issued patents in the fields of directed evolution and protein engineering. Dr. Cherry received his doctorate from the University of New Hampshire in the field of biochemistry, and a B.A. in Chemistry from Carleton College. He also worked as a post doctorate at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.