RAMON GONZALEZ
Dr. Ramon Gonzalez is the Chief Scientific Officer of MojiaBio, a global biomanufacturing company. He is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), Past President of the Society for Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology, and former Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology.
Dr. Gonzalez’s career spans academia, industry, and government. He spent much of his academic career at Rice University, where he directed the Laboratory for Metabolic Engineering and Biomanufacturing, advanced from Assistant Professor to Full Professor, founded the Advanced Biomanufacturing Initiative, and served as Director of the Energy and Environment Initiative. He later served as Professor and Florida World Class Scholar at the University of South Florida. He has served as a Program Director at ARPA-E/DOE and the U.S. National Science Foundation, as well as on academic and industrial advisory boards.
Dr. Gonzalez has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, including papers in Nature portfolio Journals (Nature, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Catalysis, Nature Metabolism, Nature Chemical Biology, Nature Communications), PNAS, and Science, delivered more than 100 invited lectures, and is lead inventor on 25 patents/patent applications. He founded/co-founded Glycos Biotechnologies, Creo Ingredients, RBN Bio, and C1Plus Bio, and has advised major industrial bio and Fortune 500 companies. Dr. Gonzalez has received numerous recognitions, including, SIMB Charles Porter Award, Discovery Series Lecture (BioDesign Institute, Arizona State University), Tiangong Forum Lecture (TIB-CAS, China), ‘Inspiring Wisdom’ Distinguished Lecture (SKMML, SJTU, China), AIChE Division 15c Plenary Lecture, ASM Distinguished Lecturer, SDA/NBB Glycerine Innovation Research Award, and NSF CAREER Award. Dr. Gonzalez obtained a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Chile, an M.S. in Biochemical Engineering from the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (Chile), and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Central University “Marta Abreu” of Las Villas (Cuba).
Professional Experience
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2018 to 2024 – Professor, Florida 21st Century World Class Scholar, Department of Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida
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2015 to 2023 – Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology
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2014 to 2018 – Professor, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas
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2016 to 2018 – Founding Director, Advanced Biomanufacturing Initiative (iBIO), Rice University, Houston, Texas
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2014 to 2016 – Director, Energy and Environment Initiative (EEi), Rice University, Houston, Texas
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2012 to 2015 – Program Director, Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy (ARPA-E), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Washington D.C.
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2011 to 2014 – Associate Professor, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas
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2007 to 2011 – Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas
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2005 to 2011 – William W. Akers Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas
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2002 to 2005 – Assistant Professor, Departments of Chemical & Biological Engineering and Food Science & Human Nutrition, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
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2001 to 2002 – Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
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1994 to 1995 – Process Engineer, Marcelo Salado Sugar Mill (Formerly, Reforma Sugar Mill), MINAZ (Cuba's Sugar Ministry), Caibarien, Cuba
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1993 to 1996 – Research Associate and Lecturer, Center for Processes Analysis, Department of Chemical Engineering, Central University of Las Villas, Santa Clara, Cuba
Education
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2001 – Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of Chile
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1999 – M.Sc., Biochemical Engineering, Catholic University of Valparaiso, Chile
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1993 – B.Sc., Chemical Engineering, Central University of Las Villas, Cuba