Tony Gutierrez is Professor of Environmental Microbiology & Biotechnology at Heriot-Watt University. His research has revealed new insights on the microbial processes dictating the fate of chemical pollutants, such as crude oil during the Deepwater Horizon disaster, microplastics in tropical aquaculture farms, and petrochemicals in contaminated soil. His work also uses engineering biology to harness microbes and their genetic power to help clean up contaminated land and water.