Rohan A. Shirwaiker is the Principal Investigator and Co-Director of the Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein at NC State University. He is also the James T. Ryan Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering at NC State. He received a BS in Production Engineering from Mumbai University and MS and PhD in Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering from Pennsylvania State University. Shirwaiker is an expert in the advanced manufacturing of biological products for food and medical applications. At the Bezos Center supported by a grant from the Bezos Earth Fund, he oversees a team of over 50 academic researchers and industry partners on R&D, workforce development, and capacity building efforts focused on sustainable manufacturing of plant-based, fermentation-made, and cell cultivated meats. Shirwaiker has received several professional recognitions including the Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers (IISE) Fellow Award, US National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award. In addition to being an active researcher and educator, he continues to serve in various volunteer leadership roles for professional societies and non-profits. He is a chair of the upcoming CASA-Bio Food Protein Diversification Workshop to plan future directions to advance the US bioeconomy.