Phil De Luna

Phil De Luna is a Canadian research scientist and cleantech innovator. He was named a Forbes 30 under 30 in 2019 and was the youngest-ever director at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC).[1] De Luna's research focuses on decarbonization, particularly CO2 conversion, hydrogen, and artificial intelligence for materials science.

Phil De Luna
Born (1991-11-23) November 23, 1991
NationalityCanadian
Alma mater
Known for
  • Science & Innovation
  • Clean Technology
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Public Policy
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsCO2 conversion, hydrogen, artificial intelligence
Institutions
ThesisNanostructured Electrocatalysts for CO2 Conversion (2019)
Websitewww.phildeluna.ca

In May 2021, he was confirmed as the Green Party of Canada's nominee in the riding of Toronto—St. Paul's for the 2021 Canadian federal election.[2][3] He lost to Liberal incumbent Minister Carolyn Bennett.[4] He lives in Toronto with his partner, an operating room nurse at the Hospital for Sick Children.[5][6]

Early life and education

De Luna is of Philippine descent and was born in Taiwan. He migrated to Canada with his family in 1996 at the age of five and grew up in Windsor, Ontario. He completed his BSc from the University of Windsor, his MSc from the University of Ottawa and his PhD in materials science from the University of Toronto. His doctoral research, which identified new electrocatalytic materials for the conversion of carbon dioxide into renewable fuels and feedstocks, gained him a graduate Governor General's medal.[7]

Research career

De Luna's research career has primarily focused on the discovery of novel electrocatalytic materials for the renewable electrosynthesis of fuels and chemicals from CO2 and water. He has used computational simulation and machine learning to accelerate the discovery of these new materials. His articles are well-cited.[8] He was a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher, being among the top 1% of scientists cited in his field worldwide.[9] In 2021, De Luna was inducted into The College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists at the Royal Society of Canada[10] In 2022, De Luna was appointed an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering at the University of Toronto. [11]

General interest work has appeared in Popular Science,[12] Canada's Globe and Mail, and others.[13] He was a finalist in the $20M Carbon XPRIZE, a competition to capture and convert the most CO2 into useful material.[14] In 2022, De Luna published the book "Accelerated Materials Discovery: How to Use Artificial Intelligence to Speed Up Development" about using artificial intelligence and robotics to accelerate traditional experimental discovery methods for new materials development. [15]

De Luna's current research focus at the NRC is a $57 million collaborative research program on Canadian-made clean energy technology, the "Materials for Clean Fuels Challenge Program."[16] The program's mandate is to develop technologies to help Canada achieve net-zero greenhouse gas commitments. De Luna has also been a research intern and visiting scholar at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in New York, UC Berkeley, and at the Toyota Research Institute in Silicon Valley.[5] He is a mentor for the Creative Destruction Lab, a Canadian non-profit focused on scalable, seed-stage, science- and technology-based startups.[14]

Political candidacy

De Luna was nominated as the Green Party of Canada candidate in Toronto—St. Paul's for the 2021 federal election, on a platform of essential workers, housing affordability, and green jobs.[2] He was endorsed by GreenPAC, a Canadian non-profit environmental organization.[17] He lost to Liberal incumbent Minister Carolyn Bennett.[4] De Luna has written extensively on the need for engagement between scientists and politics.[18]

Honors and Awards

References
  1. "Phil De Luna". Forbes. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  2. "Politics: Young scientist Phil De Luna seeks Toronto seat for Greens". Philippine Canadian News. May 21, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  3. Phil De Luna [@PhilDeLuna1] (18 May 2021). "[...] I will be running for the Green Party in Toronto-St. Paul's for the next federal election!" (Tweet). Retrieved 18 May 2021 – via Twitter.
  4. De Luna, Phil (June 3, 2021). "Liberal Carolyn Bennett wins Toronto-St. Paul's". Toronto Star. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  5. "Phil De Luna (Ph.D.) is the youngest Program Director at the National Research Council of Canada". Philippine Canadian News. 19 June 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  6. De Luna, Phil (August 23, 2020). "I've never had a role model in senior management who looked like me. This needs to change". Toronto Star. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  7. "Phil De Luna, MSE PhD 1T9, honored with the Governor General's Gold Medal". University of Toronto. May 23, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  8. "Phil De Luna". Google Scholar. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  9. "Highly Cited Researchers". Clarivate. November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  10. "Royal Society of Canada, Class of 2021" (PDF). Royal Society of Canada. September 14, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  11. "MSE alumnus, Phil De Luna, rejoins the department as Adjunct Professor". University of Toronto. January 6, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  12. Cimons, Marlene (April 6, 2018). "If we're going to capture our carbon emissions, we might as well put them to use". Popular Science. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  13. "Bringing together diverse voices for climate action". The Globe and Mail. January 9, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  14. "Phil De Luna". Creative Destruction Lab. April 30, 2005. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  15. "Accelerated Materials Discovery". De Gruyter. February 21, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  16. "Materials for Clean Fuels Challenge program". National Research Council Canada. April 30, 2005. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  17. "Phil De Luna". GreenPac. September 11, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  18. "Scientists are missing in politics and this needs to change". Toronto Star. September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  19. "Meet 50 emerging leaders reinventing how Canada does business". Globe & Mail. February 25, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  20. "Royal Society of Canada, Class of 2021" (PDF). Royal Society of Canada. September 14, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  21. "Highly Cited Researchers". Clarivate. November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  22. "From Drag Queens to Fintech Founders, Meet the 2021 Bay Street Bull 30X30". Bay Street Bull. April 19, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  23. "Young & relentless: Canada's top 30 under 30 sustainability leaders of 2021". Corporate Knights. November 9, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  24. "Clean50 Emerging Leader". Clean50. April 24, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  25. "Phil De Luna". GreenPac. September 11, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  26. "2020 Mission Innovation Champions". Mission Innovation. June 12, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  27. "Action Canada Fellows 2020/2021". Action Canada. Retrieved September 28, 2021.


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