Dr. Hans Blaschek was a co-founder and serves as Chief Science Officer and as a Director. As a Professor at the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign, Dr. Blaschek is a leader in the realm of genetic manipulation of the (ABE) fermentation microorganism, Clostridium beijerinckii, for biotechnology applications in the fermentation industry. In addition to molecular based approaches, the laboratory has been involved in downstream bioprocessing and membrane-based recovery of ABE products. Dr. Blaschek's work has funding from the Department of Energy, Illinois Corn Marketing Board, Illinois-Missouri Biotechnology Alliance, Council for Food and Agricultural Research, Mitsubishi Chemical, and the USDA Value-Added Non-Foods program.