Mascoma Corporation - Business Space

Scientific Advisory Board

The Mascoma Corporation Scientific Advisory Board is comprised of technology leaders with in-depth knowledge of the composition and structure of cellulosic biomass, conversion of biomass to sugars and the fermentation of these sugars, biomass processing, and related industries. The Scientific Advisory Board provides Mascoma with broad insight into important technical, business, and engineering aspects of the technology and business of converting cellulosic biomass into fuels and chemicals. The Scientific Advisory Board further provides Mascoma’s management team with regular assessments of Mascoma’s approach to technology discovery, development and deployment. The Scientific Advisory Board reviews technology under development and strategic directions being pursued by the company and provides feedback on opportunities to enhance Mascoma’s technical position. Individual members frequently consult with Mascoma on particular aspects of the business. In addition, the group meets regularly to provide Mascoma Corporation with insight into a wide range of technical issues.

Charles E. Wyman, Ph.D.

Co-founder, Chairman of Scientific Advisory Board and Chief Development Officer

Charles E. Wyman, Ph.D. is a co-founder and has served as Chairman of our Scientific Advisory Board since 2006 and has been our Chief Development Officer since July 2011. Dr. Wyman has been a leading figure world-wide in the cellulosic ethanol field for over 25 years and is a foremost expert in the area of biomass pretreatment. He is the Ford Motor Company Chair of Environmental Engineering and a Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Riverside, where he has worked since 2005. Prior to that, from 1998 to 2005, he was the Paul E. and Joan H. Queneau Distinguished Professor in Environmental Engineering Design and acting Associate Dean at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College, where he continues as an Adjunct Professor. He also has served as Director of Technology for BC International Corporation (now Celunol Corporation), Director of the Biotechnology Center for Fuels and Chemicals at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, or NREL, in Golden, Colorado, Director of the NREL Biotechnology Research Branch, Manager of Process Development for Badger Engineers, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of New Hampshire and as a Senior Chemical Engineer with Monsanto Company. Dr. Wyman received a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University, and an M.B.A. from the University of Denver.

Frances H. Arnold, Ph.D.

Professor of Chemical Engineering

Frances H. Arnold joined the faculty at Caltech in 1986, where she is currently the Dick and Barbara Dickinson Prof. of Chemical Engineering & Biochemistry. She is interested in constructing new biological entities--novel enzymes and organisms--by breeding them in the laboratory. She and her research group at the California Institute of Technology pioneered methods of 'directed evolution', now widely used to optimize industrial enzymes. Dr. Arnold is currently combining these high-throughput, largely empirical methods with structure-based computational approaches in order to construct new proteins, metabolic pathways and biological control systems. Dr. Arnold has had a long-standing interest in alternative energy and is actively exploring new biology-based approaches to production of fuels and chemicals, serving on various Science Advisory Boards, and consults widely on energy-related projects and policies. Frances is inventor or co-inventor on more than 20 patents and has won numerous awards, the most recent of which is the 2007 Excellence in Science Award from the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. She was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2000 and the Institute of Medicine in 2004. Frances received her B.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University (1979) and her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from U. C. Berkeley (1985).

Doug Cameron, Ph.D.

Chief Science Advisor, Piper Jaffray and Co.

Doug Cameron is managing director and chief science advisor at Piper Jaffray. His major responsibility is in building the firm's global franchise in renewable energy and clean technology.

Cameron joined Piper Jaffray in August, 2008 from Khosla Ventures in Menlo Park, Calif., one of the premier venture capital firms in clean technology investments. As chief scientific officer at Khosla Ventures, he led technical due diligence for many of the firm’s clean technology investments.

Prior to Khosla Ventures, Cameron was chief scientist and director of biotechnology at Cargill, Inc. in Minnetonka, Minn., where he built and led Cargill’s corporate biotechnology research group.

Before moving to Cargill, Cameron was a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, were he taught biochemical engineering and established a leading research laboratory in the areas of metabolic engineering and bioprocess technology.

Cameron graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor of Science and Engineering degree in biomedical engineering. He earned a Ph.D. in biochemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the Society of Industrial Microbiology (SIM) and the American Society for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Cameron recently was given the Raphael Katzen Award for distinguished contributions to enable and further the deployment and commercialization of biotechnology to produce fuels and chemicals from renewable sources. He is also a consulting professor of chemical engineering at Stanford.

Bruce E. Dale, Ph.D

Prof. Chemical Engineering

Professor Dale is Professor of Chemical Engineering and former Chair ofthe Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Michigan State University. He has worked for over thirty years in the production of fuels and chemicals from cellulosic biomass. Professor Dale is the inventor of the ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX) process, a leading pretreatment process for lignocellulose. He is also recognized as a leader in the application of life cycle analysis to understanding and improving the environmental performance of bioconversion systems. Professor Dale led a National Research Council report entitled "Biobased Industrial Products: Research and Commercialization Priorities" which was published in May 2000. Dr. Dale received his bachelor's degree and master's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Arizona (Tucson) in 1976, and his Ph.D in 1979 from Purdue University.

Donald L. Johnson, Ph.D., ScD

NAE Independent SAB Member

Donald Johnson, now retired, previously served as Vice President / Product and Process Technology for the Grain Processing Corporation (GPC). Dr. Johnson directed research departments at the A.E. Staley Manufacturing Company (now Tate and Lyle, North America) prior to joining GPC. He authored or co-authored thirteen patents as well as numerous technical publications and presentations regarding production of foods and chemicals from renewable resources. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1993 and is serving, or served, on numerous National Academy of Science boards and committees, scientific boards for industrial research, university advisory councils and organizing committees for technical symposia. Dr. Johnson is a member of several technical, service and business associations. He received a BS degree in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois and his ScD in chemical engineering from Washington University in 1966.

Chris Kaiser, Ph.D

Prof. Biology, MIT

Chris Kaiser received his A.B. magna cum laude in biochemical sciences from Harvard College and his Ph.D. in biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He carried out his postdoctoral training at the University of California, Berkeley with Randy Schekman. He has been on the MIT faculty since 1991 and is currently Professor of Biology and Head of the Department of Biology. Kaiser manages a laboratory at MIT, where he studies the cell biology of protein folding and membrane protein sorting in the secretory pathway. In addition to his research activities, Kaiser is also a dedicated educator. He and has taught Genetics at MIT for sixteen years and is the recipient of a MacVicar Faculty Fellowship in recognition or his teaching service. In additionto serving on a number of review panels and editorial boards, Kaiser isa coauthor of a major textbook, Molecular Cell Biology 5th and 6th editions (W.H. Freeman and Co.)

John (Jack) N. Saddler, Ph.D.

Dean, Faculty of Forestry

Professor Saddler is Dean, Faculty of Forestry, and Professor, Forest Products Biotechnology at the University of British Columbia. He is also the IEA Bioenergy Task Leader for the Liquid Biofuels network. His current research focuses on substrate and enzyme factors that influencefiber modification, enzymatic hydrolysis of softwood derived cellulose,bioconversion of softwoods to ethanol, and related application of enzymes in enhancing pulp and fibre properties. Previously, he was the NSERC Chair in Forest Products Biotechnology, a Research Manager in theBiotechnology and Chemistry Department at Forintek Canada Corporation, and Special Advisor, Industrial Biotechnology, at the Science Directorate of the Canadian Forest Service. Dr. Saddler’s degrees include a B.Sc. (Hons) in Microbiology from University of Edinburgh, and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Glasgow.

Philippe Soucaille, Ph.D.

CSO, Metabolic Explorer

Philippe Soucaille is Chief Scientific Officer of Metabolic Explorer and is also a world-renowned professor at t he INSA of Toulouse (French National Institute for Applied Sciences), a leading high engineering school. Previously, he served as senior scientist and project leader at Genencor International Inc where he managed the 1, 3-propanediol project, an industrial collaborative project with Dupont de Nemours involving more than 40 scientists. This pioneering research represents a major breakthrough in the development of chemicals from clean, renewable raw materials. Dr. Soucaille received a BS degree in Microbiology from the University Paul Sabatier, MA and Ph.D degrees in Biochemical Engineering from INSA.

Candace S. Wheeler, Ph.D.

Technical Fellow, General Motors Company

Candace Wheeler is a Technical Fellow at General Motors' Research and Development Center. Dr. Wheeler serves as the Biofuels Lead in their Global Energy Systems Center. She joined General Motors in 1981. Her early work involved studying the health effects of diesel particulate, ozone, and fibrous materials. The last 15 years, she has shifted her focus to sustainable transportation including life cycle analysis, alternative fuels, and vehicle recycling. An author of numerous publications, Dr. Wheeler serves on the advisory board of a number of leading energy and biofuels organizations including two of the Department of Energy’s BioEnergy Research Centers. She has been an invited speaker and panelist at several of the industry’s leading conferences. She received a Chairman’s Honor Award in both 2007 and 2009 for her work on alternative fuels, and in 2007, she was awarded the Society of Plastic Engineers Enabling Technologies in Processes & Procedures Award. She received her BS degree in chemistry from Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL and her Ph.D. in pharmacology and toxicology from Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, MI.