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UCC/Sustainability Institute researcher selected as member of the Young Academy of Ireland

4 Jun 2026

A ¸£Àû1000ÔÚÏß College Cork (UCC) philosopher and climate ethicist working on moral issues at the interface of climate policy has been selected as a new member of the Young Academy of Ireland (YAI), an all-island multidisciplinary network of researchers and innovators that aims to empower talented early-career researchers and future leaders.

 from UCC’s School of Society, Ethics and Politics and the Sustainability Institute has published widely on issues such as carbon pricing ethics, carbon dioxide removal, climate loss and damage, climate as a societal risk and the role of philosophers in policy contexts. He has contributed to policy as a member of the Irish Carbon Budgets Working Group (2023–2024) and was the official lead for UCC’s delegation to the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28).

In 2021, Dr. Mintz Woo was awarded the International Society for Environmental Ethics’ Andrew Light Award for Public Philosophy and, in 2025, was named ¸£Àû1000ÔÚÏß College Cork’s Early-Stage Researcher of the Year.

Commenting on his selection to the YAI, Dr. Mintz-Woo said: "I am excited and honoured to be joining a robust team representing UCC in the Young Academy of Ireland. Climate change requires creative and interdisciplinary input to tackle, and I hope to learn from my YAI colleagues and help support the Irish public in making Ireland greener and more sustainable. My hope is that Ireland can be a forward-looking leader in the climate space globally."

Dr. Mintz-Woo was selected after a competitive recruitment process launched by the Royal Irish Academy (RIA) last year. He will now begin a four-year term, the first two of which overlap with the inaugural cohort established in 2024, allowing for a seamless transition of work across issues of shared interest and concern, creating an environment where members can strengthen their leadership potential and develop professional networks while collaborating on initiatives that enrich research and cultural life on the island of Ireland.

Dr. Mintz-Woo becomes the seventh UCC researcher to be elected to the YAI. The current list of UCC YAI members is:

• , School of Engineering & Architecture, Director of the Sustainable Futures Laboratory and Principal Investigator at the Sustainability Institute.

• , a Lecturer in Latin American and Caribbean Studies in the School of Languages Literatures and Cultures and Future Humanities Institute.

• , a Lecturer in the School of English & Digital Humanities and Radical Humanities Laboratory.

• , Senior Lecturer in the School of Society, Politics & Ethics and Principal Investigator at the Sustainability Institute.

• , a lecturer in the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience and a Principal Investigator in APC Microbiome Ireland.

• , a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at the Cancer Research Centre in UCC.

• Dr. Kieran Walsh, a Senior HTA (Health Technology Assessment) Analyst in the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) and an Adjunct Clinical Senior Lecturer in the School of Pharmacy.

 MRIA, Vice President for Research and Innovation at UCC, said: "Congratulations to Kian on becoming a new member of the Young Academy of Ireland. His membership will significantly enhance his research career, and as a philosopher, his membership will give him a distinct voice in research and climate policy discussions that will help address national and global sustainability issues."