our people
Robert Wallace
Bob Wallace is the executive director of Penn State University’s BioEnergy Bridge. In this capacity, he serves as the principal liaison between the University’s capabilities in biomass R&D, as well as their industrial support capabilities. Wallace holds a Chemical Engineering degree from Colorado State University. He is a recent addition to the Penn State Institutes for Energy and Environment (PSIEE) where he also serves as the associate director of Penn State’s Biomass Energy Center.
Prior to joining Penn State, Wallace worked at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for seven years. At NREL, he held the position of Area Lead for the NREL Strategic Analysis Platform as well as working in the Integration Analysis & Planning Team in the National Bioenergy Center. His main responsibilities at NREL were techno-economic analysis, life cycle and sustainability analysis and systems dynamic modeling of projects related to biofuels research towards commercialization. He has extensive experience working with government, academia and private sector organizations on biofuels commercialization efforts, including R&D, scale-up and supply chain issues.
Tom L. Richard
Richard is the director of Penn State’s Institutes of Energy and the Environment (PSIEE), which is the university’s central coordinating structure for energy and environmental research, education, and outreach. In this capacity, he helps facilitate the research, teaching and outreach for almost 500 faculty members and over $140 million in research expenditures annually. Richard is also the director of Penn State’s Biomass Energy Center, where he coordinates research and outreach activities for more than 70 faculty members, and develops industrial collaborations through the BioEnergy Bridge.
Richard earned a Ph.D. in Biological Engineering from Cornell University in 1997, an M.S. in Agricultural Engineering from Cornell in 1987, and a B.S. in Political Economy of Natural Resources from UC Berkeley in 1978. He spent ten years in a research/extension appointment at Cornell University and eight years in a research/teaching appointment at Iowa State University before joining the Penn State faculty in 2004.
He has taught the following courses at Penn State:
- B E 497A: Biomass Energy Systems
- B E 001S: Freshman Seminar
- B E 402: Transport Processes for Biological Production
- ABE 597A: Bioconversion Processes
Richard also manages the Bioconversion Research Group, which applies fundamental engineering science to microbial ecosystems to develop innovative strategies for a more sustainable agriculture and the emerging bio-based economy. The group’s primary research thrust is the development of sustainable strategies for biomass feedstock supply. Richard has authored more than 100 research and technical publications and serves on the editorial boards of three scientific journals.
The Bioconversion Research Group is also active in advancing the emerging discipline of biological engineering, though organizations like the Institute of Biological Engineering (IBE), the Journal of Biological Engineering (JBE), the international Genetically Engineered Machines competition (iGEM), and opensourcing Penn State’s laboratory techniques with Openwetware.
Affiliated Faculty/Researchers
Our research strength draws upon the 80+ affiliates of the Biomass Energy Center.
