Dr. Richard Sayre is the director of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. As a noted scientist in the field of renewable fuels, he leads a team of 10 researchers who focus on using algae to produce "third-generation" biofuels that someday could be used to power cars, trucks, and aircraft. This work complements the larger body of biofuels research currently underway at the Danforth Center.

In addition, Dr. Sayre serves as the director of the BioCassava Plus program at the Danforth Center, a multi-national development program funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Its objective is to genetically engineer cassava for enhanced nutrition of sub-Saharan Africans. Cassava is a staple crop eaten by more than 700 million people living in the developing world.

Dr. Sayre was the co-founder and past president of Phycotransgenics LLC and is currently the chief technology officer for Phycal LLC, a start-up biotechnology company developing microalgal-based carbon capture and biofuel production systems. Dr. Sayre was formerly chair of the department of plant cellular and molecular biology at the Ohio State University.

Dr. Sayre received his PhD from the University of Iowa and did post-doctoral work at Harvard University.