Jay Fitzgerald is a Technology Manager for the Conversion Program in the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In that role, he manages a portfolio of research and development projects focused on overcoming the challenges in the conversion of biomass and wastes into fuels, chemicals, and materials. Specifically, he focuses on synthetic biology, including leading DOE efforts on the Agile BioFoundry, lignin conversion, and chemical and biological conversion of plastics.
Jay was previously an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the DOE Office of Science Office of Biological & Environmental Research (BER). He completed his PhD in organic chemistry at Stanford University with Professor Chaitan Khosla, focusing on the biosynthesis of medicinally useful polyketides. He also holds a BA in biochemistry and a minor in economics from Middlebury College.