Tom Richard, Ph.D., served for 15 years as the director of Penn State’s Institutes for Energy and the Environment, coordinating 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. His research and teaching focus on applications of fundamental engineering science to microbial and agricultural systems, developing market-based strategies for a more sustainable agriculture, and the emerging bio-based economy.
Richard is an advisor for Penn State’s GCSE EnvironMentors Chapter. Richard is a fellow of ASABE and a fellow and past president of the Institute of Biological Engineering. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and master's and doctoral degrees from Cornell University.