Tom Richard

Director | Institutes for Energy and the Environment at Penn State

Tom Richard is a professor of agricultural and biological engineering and the Director of Penn State’s Institutes for Energy and the Environment, where he coordinates a network of almost 500 faculty engaged in innovative interdisciplinary research and education on fossil and renewable energy, energy efficiency, water, climate, ecosystems and environmental health. Dr. Richard currently directs the $10 million NEWBio Sustainable Bioenergy Consortium for the USDA, and serves as the deputy technical director for the DOE’s National Risk Assessment Partnership for geologic carbon sequestration. Dr. Richard is the author or co-author of over 140 research and technical publications and is a Fellow and Past President of the Institute of Biological Engineering. He has a B.S. from the University of California at Berkeley, and M.S. and PhD degrees from Cornell University.