The 26-year-old former Lake Hāwea resident was announced as joint UK Young New Zealander of the Year last week for his contribution to climate science.
The awards are issued by The New Zealand Society and ANZ Bank to celebrate the success of expatriate New Zealanders in the United Kingdom.
The New Zealand Society said in a statement Dr Ross was a qualified climate scientist and entrepreneur who was passionate about "championing climate action and accelerating innovative ocean-based climate solutions".
A University of Canterbury honours alumni, Dr Ross was also a Provost Scholarship recipient to the University of California Davis where he studied wildlife, fish and conservation biology.
Based in London for a year, he has begun his own start-up company Ocean Balance, and is a visiting fellow at Oxford University in the earth sciences department where he works on fighting climate change using the ocean.
"The ocean provides us with every second breath, covers 70% of the planet and cycles more carbon than everything else on earth combined," he said.
"The ocean is the biggest opportunity to counteract climate change."
He was thrilled to be recognised for his efforts, and said he would leverage off the award.
"[It’s] very exciting to have my work recognised and most excited because it gives my platform talking about the climate and the ocean acceleration."
Dr Ross has a strong interest in regenerative agriculture and led the launch of Australasia’s first certified carbon-zero farm on his family farm, Lake Hāwea Station.
His parents, Justine and Geoff Ross, owners of the station since 2018, have encouraged his work in the climate change space.
"They were always passionate about the environment and the last few years in particular I have probably driving it for the most part.
"I have been very lucky that they have been somewhat malleable and open minded when it comes to these new ideas I have been bringing to the farm and in general."
Climate change had been pulled into partisan political arguments when it needed to stand on its own.
"Some issues immediately get politicised ... climate change has nothing to do with your economic leanings left or right and yet it gets lumped into a pool."
He was drawn to climate change science and the ocean specifically as he was brought up spending plenty of time in the outdoors.
He remembered going spear fishing with his father from a young age and tramping with his mother.
"We grew up spending a lot of time in and around the water and in the last few years has been spending a lot of time on agriculture as a climate change solution too."
His PhD considered seaweed as a climate change solution.
Governments around the world, and New Zealand’s own, were not doing enough to counteract carbon emissions and climate change, Dr Ross said.
"I was extremely worried about the dangers of climate change when younger.
"I looked to these scientists who were researching the next gen technologies and I put a lot of my faith in the fact there was all these exciting new projects and amazing scientists working on this tech.
"Now I am one of those guys working on climate solutions and to be frank I don’t think we have got our shit together at all."
New Zealand had an increasing role in leading global climate change action and protection of the environment.
"The deeper you get into to the worse it feels and particularly with the current state of geopolitics it is pretty scary."
Others recognised were footballer Chris Wood, who received a Pride of New Zealand Award; the UK prime minister’s adviser on AI, Dr Jade Leung, who was given the New Zealander of the Year Award; and groundswoman at Lord’s Cricket Ground, Meg Lay, who also received a Young New Zealander of the Year Award.
