Bob is the lead National Program Leader in for bioenergy research at ARS and co-leads the ARS National Program for industrial bio-based products.

Before joining ARS in 2004, Dr. Fireovid spent 10 years at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST – part of U.S. Dept. of Commerce) where he was a Program Manager in the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) and helped companies such as Cargill-Dow, Genencor, Metabolix, Seminis, Cognis, Metabolix, Maxygen/Verdia, Maxygen/Codexis and CropTech perform high-risk/high-payback R&D within the chemical, materials, agricultural and industrial biotechnology industries.

Bob has been involved in bioenergy and biobased research for over 30 years, starting with his Ph.D. research on the production of ethanol (called ‘gasohol’ back then) from cellulosic biomass. His industrial experience includes research on penicillin fermentation and enzymatic production of semi-synthetic antibiotics (Wyeth Labs), the conversion of lactic acid to acrylics (Corn Products), and fermentation-derived food additives (Hercules).

In addition to a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Bob has an MBA from Northwestern University, and was a business manager at both GE Plastics and Black & Decker.