Dr Christopher Saffron is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at Michigan State University, USA. He has published widely in the areas of biofuels, bioproducts, and bioenergy system analysis. He has a growing patent portfolio that includes biomass fractionation, cellulose hydrolysis, catalytic fast pyrolysis, and electrocatalysis. His research and teaching programs are focussed on carbon efficient approaches that benefit from 'energy upgrading', which uses non-fossil electricity to enhance the conversion of biomass into biofuels and bioproducts.