Rate My Professor Christopher Simmons

Christopher W. Simmons, Ph.D., is Professor and Department Chair of the Food Science and Technology Department at the University of California, Davis, a role he began in 2021 after joining the faculty in 2013. A UC Davis alumnus, he earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Biological Systems Engineering from the university, completing his Ph.D. between 2007 and 2011. In addition to his academic appointment, Simmons serves as Director of Research and Director of Outreach for the Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Dr. Simmons' research focuses on improving energy and water use efficiency in food processing by reclaiming energy from waste biomass streams, with an emphasis on food system sustainability and sustainable management of agricultural and food processing wastes. His projects encompass biosolarization, which uses solar heating and organic amendments to suppress soil-borne pests and weeds; waste-to-energy conversion; biofuel production; and the water-energy nexus. Simmons has garnered significant recognition for his contributions, including the 2023 UC Davis Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award for Graduate and Professional Training, lauded for innovative teaching tools like animations and virtual reality simulations; the 2019-2020 UC Davis Chancellor's Fellowship; and the 2018 California Department of Pesticide Regulation Integrated Pest Management Achievement Award for biosolarization advancements. Key publications include "Obtaining Multiple Coproducts from Red Grape Pomace via Anthocyanin Extraction and Biogas Production" (Allison and Simmons, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2018), "Understanding the Anthropocene through the Lens of Landfill Microbiomes" (Achmon et al., Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2018), "Valorization of Tomato Pomace by Sequential Lycopene Extraction and Anaerobic Digestion" (Allison and Simmons, Biomass and Bioenergy, 2017), "The Effects of Short-Term Biosolarization Using Mature Compost and Industrial Tomato Waste Amendments..." (Achmon et al., Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2018), and "Assessment of Tomato and Wine Processing Solid Wastes as Soil Amendments for Biosolarization" (Achmon et al., Waste Management, 2015). These works demonstrate his influence on practical strategies for waste valorization and sustainable agriculture.