Gibbons, William Ray 1958-

William Ray (Bill) Gibbons was born on January 5, 1958 in Winner, South Dakota. He graduated from Brookings High School in 1976. He attended South Dakota State University from 1980 to 1987. He obtained a B.S in Microbiology and Chemistry in 1980, a M.S. in Microbiology in 1982, and a Ph. D. in Microbiology and Agronomy in 1987.

In 1987, he began his career as an Assistant Professor in the Biology and Microbiology Department at South Dakota State University. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1991 and Professor in 1997. He has served as Associate Director of the Center for Bio-processing Research and Development, Director of the South Dakota Oilseed Initiative, and Interim Director of the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station / His research focuses on applied microbiology and biotechnology, specifically in in exploiting microbes to develop value added products from biomass and agricultural materials. This included developing fuels and chemicals from biomass as replacements for petroleum-based products. His research activities and leadership roles have included collaborations with regional universities and federal labs, including: South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, North Dakota State University, University of Minnesota, many other universities and the USDA National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research. Gibbons has conducted all of his research within the university environment, always integrating research with teaching. / His honors include: SDSU Microbiology Club Teacher of the Year (1990); Golden Key Honorary Member (2003); College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences Dean’s Team award for developing a Center for Excellence in Bio-processing (2006); College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences Distinguished Researcher of the Year (2007); Gamma Sigma Delta Researcher of the Year, and Pat and Jo Cannon Intellectual Property Commercialization Award (2011 and 2012); and the F.O. Butler Award for Excellence in Research (2014).