Andy Soria

Andy Soria is the Director of the Berglund Center at Pacific University, an innovation center and small business incubator established in 2014. He has been involved in the development of new products and alternative technologies in energy and materials for over 20 years. He has served at the National Academy of Science–National Research Council as an expert in biofuels, and has worked as a consultant for the International Finance Corporation (The World Bank) and Fortune 500 energy companies. Dr. Soria teaches courses in the broad context of energy, sustainability, environmental science and technology and innovation, and conducts active research in thermochemical conversion of wastes into value added products funded by NSF, USDA and other Federal Agencies.

Prior to academia, he was involved in large-scale geothermal energy, hydropower and oil and gas development across Latin America. Dr. Soria has a Ph.D. in Natural Resources-Wood Chemistry from the University of Idaho.

Participating years: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020