Helping to transform society's production and use of chemicals and materials
The University of California Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry is an academic program that advances green chemistry through interdisciplinary scholarship. BCGC pursues innovations in education, research and public engagement. We are faculty, researchers, and students in the Colleges of Chemistry, Natural Resources and Engineering, and the Schools of Public Health and Business.
BCGC October 2015 Newsletter
Greener Solutions 2015 is off to a great start! Students kicked off the semester with some serious team-building exercises.
Ken Geiser, author of Chemicals Without Harm at BCGC and in San Francisco
Ken Geiser is Professor Emeritus of Work Environment at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, an author of the landmark Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Act, and previously served as Director of the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute.
In his new book, Chemicals Without Harm, Geiser moves beyond government action to envision new strategies for reinventing the chemical economy with safety and sustainability as its guiding principles. He held a special lunch discussion with BCGC students and gave a lecture on this book, hosted by BCGC, on October 20. He will also read from his book and speak on a panel of experts at Breast Cancer Awareness event at the San Francisco Public Library tonight, October 22. Get more details and RSVP to the library event here.
BCGC in the News
BCGC Natural Dye Activity on the Nexus Blog for National Chemistry Week
This year the American Chemical Society and chemists around the world are celebrating National Chemistry Week (NCW) in color! The 2015 NCW theme is "Chemistry Colors Our World," focusing on the chemistry of food colors, fireworks, rainbows, natural dyes, pigments, and more. Our green chemistry lab experiment is the perfect activity for students to perform during this week of chemistry celebration involving natural dye molecules, so ACS is sharing it on their Nexus blog. Check it out here!
BCGC's Tom McKeag and Meg Schwarzman to lead online Q&A about Greener Solutions
The Green Chemistry Innovation Portal is hosting an on-line text-based Q&A with the Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry’s Greener Solutions Program, our project-based class that partners students with organizations involved in sustainable chemistry. Interdisciplinary teams of high-level students work closely with the partner organizations to apply the students’ knowledge, analyzing real-world opportunities for the adoption of safer chemicals and materials. The course has been in the national news recently for its innovative approach to interdisciplinary green chemistry education. Learn the secret to the course's success in this webinar. Description and the details below:
Join us on November 10th to ask the masterminds behind the Greener Solutions program anything you like: how it began, successes, lessons learned, or technical questions. Questions will be collected beginning November 3rd. From 3:00-4:30 ET (12-1:30 PT) on Nov. 10th, the innovators will answer your questions live on the Green Chemistry Innovation Forum. The experts joining us for this session will be:
Tom McKeag, Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry, Program Director
Kaj Johnson, Senior Director of Product Development, Method
Meg Schwarzman, Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry, Associate Director
Tom and Meg will give insider perspectives on the formation and success of Greener Solutions, while Kaj will discuss how Method came to be involved and what the innovative personal care company has gained from the program. A student who has completed the course will also contribute their perspective on the advantages and challenges of participating in the Greener Solutions course. Mark your calendars and visit the Innovation Forum today to see other ongoing discussions around green chemistry!
You can also learn more about the Greener Solutions course by watching this video we put together last year.
Green Chemistry Community
New on-line platform for green chemistry professionals: The Green Chemistry Innovation Portal
The Green Chemistry & Commerce Council and the ACS Green Chemistry Institute have partnered to create a new on-line platform for green chemistry professionals to share information and collaborate on research and innovative technologies. The Green Chemistry Innovation Portal is a free resource created to connect and grow the green chemistry community, exchange resources and information, and facilitate collaborations. Join us for this webinar to learn about the Portal—its features and how to use it—and to hear perspectives from academia and industry on the value of the Portal for advancing green chemistry innovation. Join BCGC's program director, Tom McKeag, for a webinar on October 26 to learn more about the portal. Details and RSVP here.
Green Chemistry Opportunities
Green Chemistry Job: ACS Green Chemistry Research Specialist
The ACS green chemistry division is looking for a research specialist who will be responsible for research and technical research program development and project management for selected green chemistry initiatives in all areas of the Institute’s strategic intent (Science and Research, Education, Industry and advocacy). This requires a working knowledge and/or direct experience with of sustainability/ green chemistry and engineering issues.
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