Jeanny Yao

Overview

I'm the co founder and Chief Technology Officer of BioCellection a chemical technology company that turns unrecyclable contaminated plastic waste into biodegradable compounds for consumer and industrial applications. At the age of 17 I started innovating on the topic of plastics degradation and upcycling and presented my research findings at the TED2013 conference together with my then research partner Miranda Wang. Prior to co founding BioCellection I conducted plastics research at the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto in Canada. Through my experience in the academic setting I recognized the need to collaborate with industrial partners to develop a scalable commercial technology for treating the most problematic plastics. In my role as the Chief Technology Officer of BioCellection I have demonstrated the ability to invent prototype and iterate based on long term vision and short term needs. I have been able to effectively communicate the company s goals and progress in both technical and business contexts and efficiently and creatively utilize resources. I m a curious learner and I m not afraid to try new things. As a result I have developed experiences and know how in polymer conversion and depolymerization product diversification process optimization IP generation organic chemistry chemical engineering analytical chemistry biochemistry and synthetic biology. Through my achievements in environmental innovation and leadership I was named MacLean s Ones to Watch (2013) and selected by Plan Canada as Top 20 Under 20 (2014). I was the co recipient of the Penn Columbia Social Impact Fellowship (2016) and the first named inventor of all BioCellection patents. I graduated from the University of Toronto with an Honors Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Environmental Science.