Christopher Simmons

Christopher Simmons is a Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis. His research focuses on improving energy and water efficiency in food processing through waste biomass valorization, microbial community analysis for biofuel production, and sustainable soil management via biosolarization. He holds a Ph.D. in Food Science from UC Davis (2011).

Research Interests:

• Waste biomass utilization for bioenergy and biofuels
• Microbial ecology of industrial food processing waste
• Soil disinfestation and biosolarization techniques
• Water and energy recovery in food processing systems

Recent Research Trends: His work emphasizes circular economy principles, integrating food waste into agricultural systems (e.g., poultry feed, soil amendments) and optimizing microbial-based solutions for industrial challenges. Publications highlight advancements in desiccant drying technologies, pathogen inactivation, and organic acid biopesticide development.

Awards:

• 2023 UC Davis Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award (Graduate/Professional)
• 2019 UC Davis Chancellor’s Fellow
• 2018 California Department of Pesticide Regulation IPM Achievement Award

Grants & Advising: Active in securing grants for sustainable food systems research. Advises on projects related to microbial fuel cells, anaerobic digestion, and agricultural waste valorization. Collaborates with industry partners on energy/water nexus solutions in food processing.

Labs & Teams: Leads research groups focused on bioprocess engineering and soil health, leveraging high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics for microbial community analysis.