In this conversation, we talked to Dr. Phil De Luna about his continuous journey working on climate change issues as a PhD student, Federal Member of Parliament Candidate, Director of the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada, mentor at the University of Toronto Creative Destruction Lab, and Adjunct Professor at U of T. We explored perspectives on addressing climate change issues, including technology readiness, Phil's 5 Point Plan on addressing climate change, and scaling climate solutions with three levers (tech, policy, and finance). Dr. Phil De Luna advises young professionals who want to work in climate change space today: "Find out what piece of the climate pie you are most interested in and apply your skills." Phil shares the career maturity level framework for young professionals to follow and his experience running for office as the Green Party Federal Member of Parliament Candidate for Toronto-St. Paul's.
Introducing Dr. Phil De Luna (Materials Science & Engineering PhD 2019, Expert at McKinsey & Company | Adjunct Professor at University of Toronto | Forbes 30 Under 30)
Dr. Phil De Luna is currently an Adjunct Professor at the Materials Science & Engineering Department at the University of Toronto and a mentor at the Creative Destruction Lab. After the episode recording in late June 2022, Phil started his role as an expert in sustainability at McKinsey & Company. His previous experiences include being the youngest-ever Director at the National Research Council (NRC) for Materials for Clean Fuels and serving as a candidate for Federal Member of Parliament Candidate for the Green Party in the riding of Toronto-St. Paul's. He is also a carbon tech cofounder Carbon XPRIZE finalist (1 of 10 globally). Phil graduated with a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Toronto in 2019 and was named a Forbes Top 30 Under 30.
Episode Breakdown
Notable Quotes
Resources mentioned with Links
How to get in touch with Dr. Phil De Luna
Corrections Notice
When this episode was first published on Monday, July 11, 2022, the About and Episode Summary sections mentioned Dr. Phil De Luna was the Director of NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) and ran for the Ontario provincial election. He ran for the Federal election as a Federal Member of Parliament Candidate, not the Ontario provincial election. He was also the Director of the National Research Council (NRC), not NSERC.
Submit to our Suggestion Box if you have a great potential guest idea or some feedback!
This podcast is supported by the Hart House Good Ideas Fund, the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, the Department of Chemical Engineering, and the Engineering Alumni Network, all at the University of Toronto.
Music from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/sonda/were-in-it-together. License code: AT02WGQJBZNM4PMH