Jack Pronk

Jack Pronk serves as Professor of Industrial Microbiology and Head of the Department of Biotechnology at TU Delft, where he has revolutionized the field of industrial biotechnology through groundbreaking research in yeast physiology and metabolic engineering. After earning his MSc in Biology from Leiden University and PhD in Microbiology from TU Delft, he has built an extraordinary career combining academic excellence with industrial innovation. His research integrates quantitative physiology, genomics, synthetic biology, and evolutionary engineering to improve microbial performance in industrial processes, with particular success in developing yeast strains for bioethanol production from agricultural waste. His work has resulted in over 290 scientific publications and 28 patent applications, with many innovations now implemented at industrial scale. His excellence in both research and teaching has earned him numerous prestigious honors, including the 2019 Stevin Prize (the highest distinction for application-inspired research in the Netherlands), the 2024 Novozymes Prize, membership in the Royal Netherlands Academy of Science, and knighthood in the Order of the Netherlands Lion. As a passionate educator who received the TU Delft Best Professor Award, he actively teaches in the Leiden-Delft BSc/MSc programmes on Life Science & Technology, inspiring the next generation of biotechnologists while advancing sustainable solutions for global challenges.