2023 Young Alumna of the Year: Sophia Hamblin Wang

Sophia Hamblin Wang (BIntBus (Hons) ’09), joint-recipient of ANU Young Alumna of the Year, is recognised for her ground-breaking work, developing technology that safely captures and converts industrial CO2 emissions into solid building materials.

 

Sophia Hamblin Wang is Chief Operating Officer at MCi Carbon (MCi), an Australian clean technology platform transforming carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into building materials and other valuable industrial products for the circular economy. Sophia now helps emitters see their CO2 as a resource, not just harmful waste. She believes all hands should be on deck as we move through the ‘decade of action’ left to mitigate climate change.

 

Sophia’s bond with the environment began when she was a child in Kurrimine Beach, a small town near the Great Barrier Reef. The local tourism, fishing and farming industries nurtured her interests in protecting ecosystems. Her feelings about the environment deepened when Kurrimine Beach was badly damaged by two cyclones. The tragedy, and her studies at ANU, further inspired her career in sustainability.

 

Since then, Sophia has been recognised as a World Economic Forum (WEF) Young Global leader, is a member of the Harvard University Executive Education program. She has spoken prolifically about the circular carbon economy as an official delegate at the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos 2020, WEF Pioneers of Change Summit 2021, New York Times London Climate Week 2022 and the European Alpbach Austria 2023.

 

Sophia showcased MCi’s ground-breaking technology at the Australia Pavilion during COP26 in Glasgow, where she secured 1st Place in the Net Zero Technology Centre Pitch Battle.

 

“I do think my purpose in life is creating business models that make like a better place. And I truly believe that harnessing business in order to achieve the global goals is one of the crucial things that needs to be enhanced.”