Steven Peretti received his B.S. from Yale University in 1979, and his Ph.D. in from the California Institute of Technology in 1987, both in Chemical Engineering. He joined the NC State faculty in 1987 and has remained there. Over the course of his research, Steven has been involved in various aspects of biochemical engineering, including protein overproduction, nitroaromatic biodegradation, and metabolic engineering.
Most recently, his interests have turned to genetically-engineered microbial systems used in the production of liquid fuels and fine chemicals. Dr. Peretti is currently the site Director of the Center for BioEnergy Research and Development at North Carolina State University, an NSF-sponsored industrial membership center, in collaboration four universities across the US. He is also the Director of the Integrated Biomass Research Initiative at NC State, and is active in research involving enzymatic production of biodiesel, glycerol chemistry, and biochemical processing of synthesis gas and lignin.