Tyler Hurlburt Email and Phone Number

I love generating solutions. And I don’t just mean that as a chemist. If there is a problem in a process or assay, I can find the solution.I began my journey through chemistry at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA where I synthesized semiconductor nanoparticles to be used in LED and solar energy applications. I then traveled south to UC Berkeley where I worked in the labs of Prof. Gabor Somorjai and Matt Francis. My PhD work sat at the intersection of surface science, catalysis, chemical biology, and spectroscopy. This research focused on immobilizing enzymes in order to create new catalytic systems that bridges the gap between enzymatic and heterogeneous catalysis in order to benefit the production of biofuels and then determining the orientation of this system using sum-frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy.Falling in love with the Bay Area, I decided to join Bolt Threads. In my time at Bolt, I developed a process for dyeing Mylo™, a vegan leather alternative made from the mycelium of mushrooms as well as working on improving the mechanical and aesthetic properties of this novel textile material. This included developing and running many assays to quantify how well our processes were working.In my role at Eat Just, I have been able to use my protein chemistry expertise to help improve the quality of and reduce the costs of the plant-based eggs. This was accomplished through both upstream and downstream improvements that relied on understanding the structure-function relationship of mung bean protein and developing methods to optimize protein modification.This work in generating more sustainable materials has put me on the path of wanting to harness the power of chemistry to create other materials that will lead to a more sustainable and equitable world, whether those be food, textile, pharmaceutical or any other fun new thing. My experience working with protein and polysaccharide-based materials has informed me that these are not just pie-in-the-sky ideas, but very achievable.When not in the lab I enjoy hiking, camping, telling dad jokes, and watching the Seattle Mariners inevitably let me down.