Doug Rivers, Ph.D.

BioProcess Development & Scale Up, Fermentation Processes, Ethanol, Enzyme Technology, Cellulose Conversion, Renewable Chemicals

Doug has 45 years of recognized success developing, scaling, optimizing, and commercializing bioprocess technologies. During his career, Dr. Rivers has served in positions from lab manager to COO.   In these roles, he identified new technology, conducted due diligence for technology acquisitions, and managed the technology portfolio.  Dr. Rivers’ experience ranges from bench to commercial scale operations in key bioprocess technology areas including integrated operations for corn and cellulosic ethanol production, fermentations producing renewable fuels, chemicals, and enzymes; downstream processing, corn fractionation, cellulose pretreatment, cellulosic feedstocks, and animal feed co-products. He also provides expert witness services in his areas of expertise.  Before joining LEC, Dr. Rivers was corporate director of R&D at ICM for 10 years where he reported to the owner/CEO.  He was directly responsible for leading the corporate development of new and improved bioprocess technology to produce ethanol, other liquid fuels such as isobutanol, renewable chemicals, and animal feed co-products from corn, milo, and cellulosic feedstocks.  He was responsible for the build-out and operation of ICM’s 35,000+ sq. ft. integrated corn and cellulose pilot/demo plants valued at about $100 million, initiating external contract development services, identifying technology partnering opportunities, and facilitating the transfer of commercially ready technology to production facilities.  Before joining ICM, Dr. Rivers served in a variety of leadership roles at SAIC (Leidos), Michigan Biotechnology Institute (MBI), Southern Research Institute, ADM, University of Arkansas, and Gulf Oil Corporation. Doug earned a B.S. in Microbiology from Kansas State University, an M.S. in Microbiology from Auburn University, and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Arkansas with specializations in enzymes, fermentation, and cellulose conversion technology.  Contact Doug.