Lee Rybeck Lynd

Overview

A member of the Dartmouth faculty since 1987, Professor Lynd is an expert on utilization of plant biomass for production of energy. Spanning science, technology, and policy domains, and including leading research on fundamental and biotechnological aspects of microbial cellulose utilization, his body of work includes over 300 publications, over 42,000 citations, an h-index of 88, and an !10-index of 255 (Google Scholar), as well as 23 granted patents. Lynd is co-founder and chief technology officer of biofuel start-up Terragia Corp, and Consolidated Bioprocessing Team lead for the Center for Bioenergy Innovation.

In the past, he was founder and executive committee chair of the Global Sustainable Bioenergy Initiative, co-founder, CSO, and director of Mascoma and Enchi Corps, co-leader (with Nathanael Greene of the Natural Resources Defense Council) of The Role of Biomass in America's Energy Future project, and biofuel industry representative on a committee advisory to the executive office of President Clinton on reducing greenhouse gas emission from personal vehicles. He has three times testified before the US Senate, and has been featured in prominent media such as Wired, Forbes, Nova, and in the Nobel Conference. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has received numerous awards and honors, including: Inaugural winner of the Lemelson MIT Sustainability Prize for inventions and innovations that enhance economic opportunity and community well-being while protecting and restoring the natural environment; the Charles D. Scott Award for distinguished contributions to the field of biotechnology for fuels and chemicals; and the Society for Industrial Microbiology Charles Thom Award for exceptional merit in industrial microbiology and biotechnology.

Research Interests

Microbial cellulose utilization; metabolic engineering; innovative biomass processing technologies; sustainable bioenergy futures

Education

BS, Biology, Bates College 1979
MS, Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison 1981
MS, Engineering Sciences, Dartmouth 1984
DE, Engineering, Dartmouth 1987

Awards

Charles Thom Award, Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (2021)
Thayer Distinguished Research Award for Faculty (2020)
Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology’s Waksman Outstanding Teaching Award (2016)
Professor Extraordinary of Microbiology, Department of Microbiology, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa (2002–present)
AAAS Fellow (2012)
Mines Medal honoring scientists and engineers who have shown exceptional leadership and innovation, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (2011)
2010: Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering, Best Paper of the Year (2010)
Inaugural Winner, Lemelson-MIT Sustainability Award for Inventions and Innovations that Enhance Economic Opportunity and Community Well-Being While Protecting and Restoring the Natural Environment (2007)
Nobel Conference Lecture (2007)
Fellow, Institute of Biological Engineering (2007)
Charles D. Scott Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Field of Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals (2005)
Charles A. Lindbergh grant in recognition of efforts to promote a balance between environmental preservation and technological advancement (1991–1994)
Presidential Young Investigator (1989–1994)

Professional Activities

Organizing Committee Member, Brazilian Bioethanol Science and Technology Meeting (2020 & 2021)
Editor, Special Issue on Microbial Cellulose Utilization, Microorganisms (2021)
Participant, National Academy of Science Sackler Colloquium on the Scientific Status and Challenges in Decarbonizing our Energy (2018)
Invited Participant, Workshop on Ensuring Energy Security Through a Low-Carbon Economy. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden Colorado (2016)
Invited Participant, SCOPE Mini RAP Workshop on Bioenergy and Sustainability. Sao Paulo Research Foundation, Sao Paulo, Brazil (2016)
Invited Participant, Getting Near-Zero. Aspen Global Change Institute (2016)
Organizing Committee, Lorentz Center workshop “Bridging Technological and Social Innovation for a Biobased Economy, the Netherlands (2016)
Organizing Committee Member, biannual Clostridium meetings (2016–present)
Host, Clostridium XIV meeting (2016)
Invited Participant, Low-Carbon Energy Workshop. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2015)
Invited Participant. Debate on Bioenergy and Sustainability. World Bank (2015)
Organizing Committee, Joint Expert Meeting on Pasture and Remote Sensing. GEOGLAM RAPP Community of Practice. Campinas, Brazil (2015)
Scientific Advisory Committee, SCOPE (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment) Rapid Assessment Process on Biofuels and Sustainability (2013-2015)
Scientific Committee, Bioenergy and Food Security Workshop, International Food Policy Research Institute (2014)
Scientific Advisory Committee, SCOPE (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment) Rapid Assessment Process on Biofuels and Sustainability (2013)
Advisory Board member, BioEnergy Research (2010–present)
Lecturer, Advanced Course on Microbial Physiology and Fermentation, Delft Technical University, The Netherlands (2005–2015)
Manager, Link Energy Foundation Energy Fellowship Program (1998–present)
Visiting Scholar, University of Campinas, Brazil (2012)
Editor, Biofuels and Fine Chemicals Section, Manual of Industrial Microbiology (2008–2009)
Lecturer, Penn State Biomass Energy Short Course (2008–2009)
Advisor, Renewable and Alternative Energy Portfolio, South African National Energy Research Institute (2007–2009)
Member, Minnesota Cellulosic Ethanol Working Group (2007–2009)
Bioenergy Section Editor, Current Opinion in Biotechnology (2007–2008)
Organizing Committee Member, Annual Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals (1996–2009)
Co-Leader, "Reimagining Agriculture to Accommodate Large Scale Energy Production," NSF-funded workshop (2007)
Organizing Committee Member, American Academy of Microbiology Symposium on Microbial Energy Production (2005)
Co-leader, The Role of Biomass in America’s Energy Future Project (2003–2009)
Visiting Professor, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa (2002)
Member and R&D area coordinator, Biomass and Agriculture Working Group of the Energy Future Coalition (2003)
Associate Editor (1995–2008) and Editorial Board Member (2008–present), Biotechnology and Bioengineering
Biofuels Industry Representative, Advisory Committee to the Executive Office of President Clinton on Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Personal Vehicles (1994–1995)

Keynote, Plenary & Selected Invited Lectures

Keynote presentation, Clostridium XVII (2024)
Plenary presentation, MIT Applied Energy A+B Symposium (2024)
Shell Science Council (2022)
Bioenergy and Development, University of Guyana Green Institute (2022)
Charles Thom Award Lecture, Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (2021)
Invited presenter, Designing the Bioeconomy for Deep Decarbonization Workshop, Department of Energy (2021)
Invited presenter, Chemical Engineering in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities, National Academy of Sciences (2021)
Keynote Presentation, MIT Applied Energy A+B Symposium (2019)
Keynote Lecture, Canadian Society of Microbiologists (2018)
Keynote lecture, 40th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals (2018)
Keynote Lecture, Canadian Society of Microbiologists (2018)
Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lecture, University of Arkansas (2013)
Keynote Lecture, 35th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals (2013)
University of Georgia Charter Lecture (2012)
Keynote Speaker, First Botswana Symposium on Science and Technology for Development (2000)

Startups

Terragia
Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer

Mascoma
Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer

Research Projects

Lynd Research Lab
Lynd Research Lab
The research lab at Dartmouth led by Professor Lee Lynd is active in research on the following topics:
- Microbial Cellulose Utilization, including fundamental and applied aspects
- Metabolic Engineering, focusing on thermophilic cellulolytic bacteria for fuel production
- Innovative Biomass Processing Technologies, including development, design, and evaluation
- Sustainable Bioenergy Futures, including resource, environment, and economic development
We approach these topics from a diversity of academic disciplines with molecular biology, microbiology, chemical/biochemical engineering providing the foundation for the first three. Consistent with the "Pasteur's Quadrant" model articulated by Donald Stokes (Brookings Institution Press, Washington, DC, 1997), we see advancing applied capability and increased fundamental understanding as having strong potential to be convergent and mutually-reinforcing, and we aspire to work in this mode.

A central theme of the Lynd group is processing cellulosic biomass in a single step without added enzymes. Such "consolidated bioprocessing" (CBP) is a potential breakthrough, and "is widely considered to be the ultimate low-cost configuration for cellulose hydrolysis and fermentation" (joint DOE/USDA Roadmap, 2007). We are focused on production of ethanol, a promising renewable fuel. The CBP strategy is however potentially applicable to a very broad range of fuels and chemicals.

Selected Publications

Microbial Cellulose Utilization:

Zambello, IU, EK Holwerda, LR Lynd. 2024. Characterization of sugarcane bagasse solubilization and utilization by thermophilic cellulolytic and saccharolytic bacteria at increasing solid loadings. Bioresource Technology, 406, p.130973.
Kubis, MR, EK Holwerda, LR Lynd. 2022. Declining Carbohydrate Solubilization with Increasing Solids Loading during Fermentation of Cellulosic Feedstocks by Clostridium thermocellum: Documentation and Diagnostic Tests. Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts 15:12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13068-022-02110-4.
Chirania, P, EK Holwerda, RJ Giannone, X Liang, S Poudel, JC Ellis, YJ Bomble, LR Lynd. 2022. Metaproteomics reveals enzymatic strategies deployed by anaerobic microbiomes to maintain lignicellulose deconstruction at high solids. Nature Communications 13 (1), 1-13.
See more

Metabolic Engineering:

Chiarelli, DP, BD Sharma, S Hon, LW Bergamo, LR Lynd, DG Olson. 2024. Expression and Characterization of Monofunctional Alcohol Dehydrogenase Enzymes in Clostridium thermocellum. Metabolic Engineering Communications, p.e00243.
Callaghan, MM, E Thusoo, BD Sharma, F Getahun, DM Stevenson, C Maranas, DG Olson, LR Lynd, D Amador-Noguez. 2023. Deuterated water as a substrate-agnostic isotope tracer for investigating reversibility and thermodynamics of reactions in central carbon metabolism. Metabolic engineering, 80, pp.254–266.
Herring, CD, MP Ajie, LR Lynd. 2023. Growth-uncoupled propanediol production in a Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum strain engineered for high ethanol yield. Scientific Reports, 13(1), p.2394.
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Innovative Biomass Processing Technologies:

Kubis, MR, LR Lynd, LR 2023. Carbon capture from corn stover ethanol production via mature consolidated bioprocessing enables large negative biorefinery GHG emissions and fossil fuel-competitive economics. Sustainable Energy & Fuels, 7(16), pp.3842–3852.
Lynd, LR, GT Beckham et al. (21 coauthors). 2022. Toward low-cost biological and hybrid processing of cellulosic biomass to fuels. Energy and Environmental Science. 15:938–990.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D1EE02540F
Hannon, JR, LR Lynd, O Andrade, PT Benavides, GT Beckham, MJ Biddy, N Brown, MF Chagas, BH Davison, T Foust, TL Junqueira, MS Laser, Z Li, T Richard, L Tao, GA Tuskan, M Wang, J Woods, CE Wyman. 2019. Technoeconomic and life-cycle analysis of single-step catalytic conversion of wet ethanol into fungible fuel blendstocks. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2019 Nov 25. pii: 201821684. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1821684116. PubMed PMID: 31767762.
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Sustainable Bioenergy Futures:

Gurgel, AC, JE Seabra, SM Arantes, MM Moreira, LR Lynd, R Galindo. 2024. Contribution of double-cropped maize ethanol in Brazil to sustainable development. Nature Sustainability, pp.1–12.
Lynd, L, AR Kemanian, J Smith, TL Richard, A Arifi, S Bozzetto, C Fabbri, J Field, C Hicks-Pries, M Kubis, P Smith. 2024. Soil application of high-lignin fermentation byproduct to increase the sustainability of liquid biofuel production from crop residues. Environmental Research Letters, 19(8), p.083002.
Allee, A, LR Lynd, and V Vaze. 2021. Cross-national analysis of food security drivers: comparing results based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale and Global Food Security Index. Food Security. 13:1245-1261.
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See full publications list on ORCID

Patents

Increased ethanol production by thermophilic microorganisms with deletion of individual HFS hydrogenase subunits | 10619172
Systems and methods for enhancing microbial conversion of biomass using mechanical augmentation | 10533194
Thermophilic organisms for conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol | 10066217
Construction of protrophic/celluloytic yeast strains expressing tethered and secreted cellulases | 9994835
Flow-through pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass with inorganic nanoporous membranes | 9932648
Nucleic acid molecules conferring enhanced ethanol tolerance and microorganisms having enhanced tolerance to ethanol | 8629255
Process for the treatment of lignocellulosic biomass | 8394611
Continuous process for making ethanol | 5837506
Continuous process for ethanol production from lignocellulosic materials without mechanical agitation | 5258293
Distillation process for ethanol | 4961826
Distillation systems and methods | 4626321
Propagation of microbial cells on single carbon products | 4425432