Australian of the Year

Dr Andrzej Kilian is expanding the diversity and nutritional quality of food across the world by making advanced genetic technology both affordable and accessible. 

In 2001, Andrzej founded the Canberra-based social enterprise, Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT), to commercialise his breakthrough invention: a fast, cost-effective method of analysing the DNA of virtually any organism. Doing so gives farmers, scientists and ecologists invaluable data that improves crop productivity. 

Beginning with two people and limited funding, DArT has grown into an internationally recognised genomics and technology enterprise, supporting farm yields, biodiversity and conservation. DArT keeps its services affordable, undertaking work pro bono or at below cost. 

Andrzej is deeply affected by the injustice of children dying from hunger and the problem of communities suffering poor health from inadequate food nutrition. His vision is to match crops to the environments in which they will thrive, reduce dependence on chemical use and improve global food security.