Accomplished Researcher Recognized by Major Industry Association for Leadership in Biofuels Research

National Laboratory of the Rockies’ Robert McCormick Wins a Growth Energy TOBI Award for Technical Achievements

March 25, 2026 | By Aishwarya Krishnamoorthy | Contact media relations

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For the past 25 years, Senior Scientist Robert McCormick has come to work every day at the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) to study the chemistry of fuel engine interactions, specifically focusing on alternative fuel options.

He has worked with a wide range of partners, from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to private organizations like ExxonMobil and Clean Fuels Alliance, to understand what happens when these fuels combust—informing fuel design and innovation for truck engines, plane engines, and more.

In recognition of his extensive portfolio of accomplishments in biofuels research, McCormick recently received a 2026 TOBI Award from the biofuels trade association Growth Energy. The recognition highlighted that McCormick’s research, amassing over 16,000 citations, has helped inform numerous advancements in ethanol applications.

“Since getting into this field 30 years ago, it has been my life’s work to make fuel analysis more data driven and grounded in science by using fundamental chemistry to understand how fuels really work,” McCormick said. “This award feels like a recognition of this vision that we can study fuels differently and have it pay off.”

McCormick and his team’s analyses of the molecular interactions of fuel combustion shed light on the properties, and resulting combustion behaviors, of fuels and fuel blends that manufacturers are exploring to improve engine efficiency and reduce air pollution. Alongside the laboratory’s computational sciences researchers, the team can even simulate fuel behaviors in engines, helping manufacturers reduce development costs. The resulting data and models can help manufacturers de-risk costly fuel production processes and bring new products to the market faster.

As an example of his long history of accomplishments in biofuels research, McCormick has conducted many studies to provide technical data to inform the use of fuel ethanol, including on engine impacts of mid-level ethanol blends, the market for high-octane ethanol blends, how blending ethanol impacts gasoline properties and performance, and the compatibility of cars worldwide with gasoline–ethanol blends.

Growth Energy recognized six individuals with TOBI awards in multiple industry areas at an awards ceremony in February 2026. The TOBI Award is named for Johan Tobias Lowitz, a German Russian chemist who isolated ethanol in 1796 and, according to Growth Energy, is considered the “father of fuel ethanol.”

Learn more about NLR’s fuels and combustion research, and sign up for the Mobility Matters e-newsletter to keep up with the latest in the laboratory’s transportation research.