Mascoma Corporation - Business Space

Scientific Management Team

Michael R. Ladisch, Ph.D.

Chief Technology Officer

Michael R. Ladisch, Ph.D. has served as our Chief Technology Officer, or CTO, since 2007. Dr. Ladisch is an internationally known leader in the field of renewable fuels and cellulosic biofuels. He has been active in biofuels research since 1976, including the scale-up and process economics of cellulose ethanol production. Dr. Ladisch is taking a leave of absence from Purdue University to join our company as its CTO. He continues to perform limited duties at Purdue University as Director of the Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering, which he has done since 1999, and holds the faculty status of Distinguished Professor. Dr. Ladisch earned his B.S. from Drexel University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue University, all in chemical engineering. He has a broad background in bioscience and bioengineering, and has authored numerous journal papers, as well as the textbook “Bioseparations Engineering: Principles, Practice and Economics” (Wiley, 2001). He previously chaired the National Research Council Committee on Bioprocess Engineering as well as the Committee on Opportunities in Biotechnology for Future Army Applications, and is currently a member of the Alternative Liquid Transportation Fuels Panel of the National Academy. Dr. Ladisch was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1999.

Lee R. Lynd, Ph.D.

Co-founder, Director and Chief Science Officer

Lee R. Lynd, Ph.D. is a co-founder and a director and has served as our Chief Science Officer since 2005. Dr. Lynd leads an active academic group devoted to biomass conversion, encompassing biotechnology, process engineering and energy and environmental public policy issues at Dartmouth College. Dr. Lynd is a Professor of Engineering at Dartmouth College’s Thayer School of Engineering (2003 – present), an Adjunct Professor of Biological Sciences at Dartmouth College (2003 – present) and a Professor Extraordinary of Microbiology at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa (2002 – present). He is a recipient of the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award and a two-time recipient of the Charles A. Lindbergh Award for his efforts to promote balance between technological progress and preservation of the natural and human environments. He serves as an Associate Editor for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Personal Vehicles, an Organizing Committee member for the Annual Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals, a Manager of the Link Foundation Energy Fellowship Program and a Co-Leader of The Role of Biomass in America’s Energy Future project. Dr. Lynd received a B.S. in Biology from Bates College, an M.S. in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and M.S. and D.E. degrees in Engineering from Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College. Dr. Lynd’s illustrious career in biomass conversion, biotechnology and bioengineering and understanding of and experience with the fundamental science behind Mascoma’s technology and the application of that technology in the renewable fuels and renewable chemicals sectors enable him to provide valuable insight and guidance to our board of directors.

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.