Our people
Director, Professor Deanna D'Alessandro
As Director of the NZI, Professor Deanna D'Alessandro works in partnership with over 150 researchers and the Institute’s industry and scientific advisory boards to accelerate the development and responsible deployment of net zero technologies and solutions.
A chemist in the Faculties of Engineering and Science, Professor D'Alessandro is leading the development of materials for a novel carbon-removal process – otherwise known as direct air capture – whereby historical carbon dioxide emissions are removed from the air.
Decarbonising our society and our economy so our kids and grandkids have a liveable planet is one of the greatest global challenges of our time.
Theme leaders
- Critical minerals and materials
Professor Marjorie Valix
- Circular economy
Professor Ali Abbas
- Transport
Professor David Levinson
Dr Emily Moylan
- Decarbonising aviation demand
Professor Rico Merkert
- Smart net zero energy buidlings
Professor Albert Zomaya
- Electrification
Professor Gregor Verbic
- Green computing
Dr Chang Xu
- AI-enabled circular built environments
Dr Eugenia Gasparri
- Projects in the face of climate change
Associate Professor Nader Naderpajouh
- Climate risk to health
Professor Jaime Miranda
Dr Jingjing You
- Water Management in a changing climate
Professor Stuart Khan
- Energy in Agriculture
Professor Alex McBratney
Professor Budiman Minasny
- Buildings and Climate Change
Dr Aysu Kuru
- Alloys for the hydrogen economy
Dr Eason Chen
- Energy hybridisation
Associate Professor Dries Verstraete
- Powerfuels
Professor Assaad Masri
- Transforming wind farm operations
Professor David Airey
- Greenhouse gas conversion and Utilisation
Professor Jun Huang
- Direct air capture
Professor Deanna D'Alessandro
- Coastal carbon capture
Dr Sara Moron Polanco
Advisory boards
Industry Board
Chair: Dr Clare Anderson, Worley
Board:
- Amanda Taylor, HSBC
- Scott Nargar, Hyundai
- Eisaku Ito, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
- Justin Koek, NSW Government
- Vijay Pradhan, Origin Energy
- Stuart Watson, Rio Tinto
- Richard Kirkman, Veolia
Scientific Board
Chair: A/Prof (Hon) Alexandra Meldrum
Chair: A/Prof. (Hon) Alexandra Meldrum
Fellow, Institution of Chemical Engineers
Fellow, Australian Institute of Company Directors
Fellow, Institute of Engineers Australia
Board:
- Kate Hughes, Philippines: Asian Development Bank
- Francesca Zarri, Italy: Eni
- Jihye Gwak, Korea: Korea Institute of Energy Research
- Nilay Shah, United Kingdom: Imperial College London
- Jussi Manninen, Finland: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
- Osamu Umesawa, Japan: Yokohama National University
- Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet, Vietnam: Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST)