Lisa Dyson facts for kids

Lisa Dyson is an amazing American scientist and businesswoman. She started a company called Air Protein. This company is changing how we make food by using parts of the air! Air Protein wants to help feed lots of people around the world in a healthy and eco-friendly way. Her company was recognized by the World Economic Forum for its important work.

Lisa Dyson has achieved many great things in science and business. She has helped raise over $100 million for two companies she co-founded. She earned her PhD in physics from MIT. She also did research at top universities like Stanford and Princeton. Before starting her own companies, she worked as a consultant. She helped big companies find smart ways to run their businesses. In 2016, she gave a popular TED Talk. She talked about how old space technology could help us grow food. Over 1.5 million people have watched her talk!

Lisa has received many awards for her work. Fast Company named her one of the 100 Most Creative People in 2017. Inc. Magazine listed her as one of the Top 100 Female Founders in 2019. In 2024, she was named a Bloomberg's New Economy Catalyst. Her companies have also won awards. In 2024, Air Protein was named America's #1 FoodTech Company by TIME and Statista.

Dyson is also the co-founder and CEO of Kiverdi. This is a biotechnology company. Kiverdi aims to create a "circular economy." This means they want to reuse materials instead of throwing them away. They make raw materials for everyday products. These products include things like biodegradable plastics. They make these materials from carbon dioxide, which is a gas in the air.

Early Life and Education

Lisa Dyson grew up in Southern California. She studied physics and mathematics at Brandeis University. She finished her degrees there in 1997. Meeting physics professors at Brandeis made her want to study physics even more.

She became a Fulbright Scholar. This allowed her to study at Imperial College London. There, she earned a Masters of Science degree in physics. She focused on a topic called quantum field theory.

Lisa Dyson earned her PhD in 2004. She studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Her work focused on complex ideas like quantum gravity and string theory. She was the fourth Black woman to earn a PhD in this specific area of physics. For her PhD, she explored how string theory relates to other physics ideas.

Career and Innovations

After her PhD, Lisa Dyson continued her research. She worked at several famous universities. These included the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University. She also worked as a management consultant. She helped large international companies improve their business strategies.

In 2008, Lisa Dyson started working on climate-friendly technologies. She teamed up with John Reed. In 2011, they founded Kiverdi. This company uses tiny living things called microbes. These microbes can turn carbon dioxide and waste materials into useful things. They can make alternative fuels, proteins, and biodegradable materials.

This technology is based on ideas from NASA in the 1960s and 1970s. NASA wanted astronauts to use microbes to turn their exhaled carbon dioxide into food. Kiverdi started growing these microbes in a lab. They worked with manufacturers to make the technology bigger. Kiverdi has over 40 patents for their inventions.

Dyson and Reed then created Air Protein. This company focuses on making food in a sustainable way. Lisa Dyson is the CEO of Air Protein. The company has grown to be worth more than $100 million.

Media and Public Speaking

Lisa Dyson has given several TED talks. In 2014, she spoke about "Turning CO₂ into Oil." In July 2016, she gave a talk called "A Forgotten Space Age Technology Could Change How We Grow Food." This talk has been watched over a million times.

She has also spoken about recycling carbon. In April 2018, she appeared on the PBS show Nova. The episode was called "Decoding the Weather Machine."

Awards and Recognition

Lisa Dyson has received many honors for her work.

• 2012: Sustainable Biofuels Award for being a "Leader in Bio-based Chemical Industry."
• 2013: Named one of "40 Under 40" by the San Francisco Business Times.
• 2014: Entrepreneurship Award from the U.S. Clean Energy Education & Empowerment (C3E) Initiative.
• 2015 and 2016: Named "One of the Most Influential Women in the Bay Area" by the San Francisco Business Times.
• 2017: Recognized as one of the Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company.
• 2018: Received the Women in Natural Sciences Award. This award honors women innovators in science.
• 2019: Listed as one of the Top 100 Female Founders by Inc. Magazine.
• 2021: Won Female Thought Leader of the Year and Most Innovative Woman of the Year - Technology at the Stevie Awards for Women in Business.
• 2022: Named one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business by the San Francisco Business Times.
• 2023: Included in the Power 100 list by the San Francisco Business Times.
• 2023: Became a Lewis Latimer Fellow at The Edison Awards.
• She is also on the Forever Influential Honor Roll by the San Francisco Business Times.