Dave Wernick, Ph.D.

Principal Engineer

With an underlying drive to understand life and nature at the molecular level, Dave has always worked to combine Biology and Engineering to deliver sustainable solutions for society. He dove into this path first with his doctoral research at UCLA. There, he worked directly with the Dept. of Energy’s ARPA-E Program and Mitsubishi Chemical Company to design and develop biological solutions for energy storage, fertilizer reclamation, and livestock feed supplement production.

He was awarded a Dept. of State Fulbright Fellowship to pursue carbon fixation bioprocess development at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Dave and his family eventually settled in San Diego, where Dave worked as an Enzyme Discovery Team Leader at BASF and he spearheaded a Biotech Sustainability Initiative within Amazon’s Special Projects Group. Now Dave is excited to be part of the BlueNalu Team working towards sustainable and clean seafood. He hopes to utilize all of his past skills and knowledge to critically advance the production and delivery of cultured seafood.

Dave continues the pursuit of sustainability at home. He is an avid gardener and amateur soil scientist working to maximize backyard food production with a minimal carbon footprint. He has just begun to share this passion with his young daughters, and hopes to see their interest and curiosity expand as they grow.