Chris Stowers

Chris Stowers currently serves as Senior Director of Biotechnology and Analysis at dsm-firmenich where he leads a multi-disciplinary team of scientists and engineers to develop and scale bioprocesses for the production of nutritional products including lipids, carotenoids and vitamins. Prior to joining DSM in 2021, Chris led the BioProcess Science and Technology department within Corteva Agriscience where he was responsible for leading a cross-functional team spanning R&D and manufacturing technology to develop and scale bio-based technologies to support Corteva’s Crop Protection business units. Prior to Corteva Agriscience, Chris worked for Dow Chemical and DowDuPont for more than a decade where he served in various leadership roles spanning microbial strain improvement, systems biology, downstream processing, biocatalysis and fermentation process development. During this time, he supported the development, scaleup and commercialization of a variety of products including bioplastics, agricultural chemicals, long-chain alcohols and personal care products. He was also involved in the design, startup and commissioning of multiple pilot and commercial scale fermentation facilities including serving as the lead engineer for a pilot scale facility.

Chris earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2004 and a Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in 2008. He has published more than 20 peer-reviewed journal articles in the field of biotechnology and has filed 8 patent applications. He was awarded the Excellence in Science Award by Dow Chemical in 2014 and the Partners in Industrial Research Excellence Award in 2015 by the University of Queensland. He was a finalist for Indianapolis Best and Brightest Award in 2018 and was selected as a 40 under 40 member by the Indianapolis Business Journal in 2021.