Net Zero Initiative

Ken‑Tye Yong is Professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Sydney and a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors. His multidisciplinary research spans microfluidics, MEMS, nanomedicine, quantum‑dot engineering, plasmonic biosensors, gene and drug delivery systems, triboelectric nanogenerators, and biophotonics—bridging fundamental science with translational applications to advance diagnostics and therapeutics. He has authored over 300 peer‑reviewed publications, which have garnered more than 25,000 citations, and his achievements have been honored with the Bielby Medal and the Rosenhain Medal. As co‑founder of the Net Zero Initiative (NZI) alongside Professor Kim Rasmussen and Ms Sandra Margon, Ken‑Tye helped convene experts from engineering, science, social sciences, business, and policy to develop strategies for carbon removal, emissions reduction, climate‑risk management, and emissions avoidance. Their collaborative leadership laid the groundwork for NZI’s rapid growth. Working closely with Professor Deanna D’Alessandro—whose strategic expertise and vision as Director were instrumental—this team then transformed NZI into the independent Net Zero Institute, now a leading centre for climate‑change research and governance. Ken‑Tye previously chaired the Environmental Sensing Technical Group of the Optical Society of America (OSA) and holds Fellowships in OSA, SPIE, the Royal Society of New South Wales, Engineers Australia, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Royal Society of Biology, the Institute of Physics, and the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. He is also the author of Academia’s Billion‑Dollar Roulette, which examines shifting trends in global higher education.