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Beyond Benign. Green Chemistry Education.
A note from Dr. Juliana Vidal, Higher Education Program Manager, Beyond Benign

Dear friend,


Spring is an exciting season for Beyond Benign. In March, members of our team and community will be at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Spring Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana. If you’re attending the meeting in person, stop by our booth (#314) and say hi!

There are a number of upcoming opportunities to be involved in the green chemistry community. From professional development trainings to grant opportunities to positions on the Beyond Benign team! Keep scrolling to learn more. 

We are now partnered with 114 universities across the globe that have signed our Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) and are committed to advancing green chemistry education. If your higher education institution is not yet a signer, we encourage you to join our next GCC Info Session on April 13 to learn what the buzz is all about. 
 

As always, we are grateful you are part of our community, and we hope to see you (online or in person!) soon. 

Sincerely,

Dr. Juliana Vidal
Higher Education Program Manager, Beyond Benign

Toxicology spotlight
Did you know that Paracelsus (1493-1541) is the founder of toxicology? He was the first to establish some basic concepts, the most famous being “the dose of a chemical makes the poison!” This refers to the ability of every substance to cause harm depending on the dosage — a central and very important concept to toxicology. Learn more by downloading our Toxicology for Chemists curriculum and reading through Module 1: History and Principles of Toxicology. From this module, students will learn the basic principles of toxicology and the history of their development by examining case studies and a detailed historical timeline! 
Lead Teacher Q&A with Annette Sebuyira, retired Guilderland High School chemistry teacher

How educator Annette Sebuyira is advancing green chemistry in New York


Based in New York, Annette Sebuyira is a retired Guilderland High School chemistry teacher with over 30 years of experience. Annette is a Beyond Benign Certified Lead Teacher and is doing inspiring work to advance green chemistry education. Currently, she is involved in creating a green chemistry lab book for New York educators and is a co-facilitator of the New York State Master Teacher Green Chemistry Professional Learning Team.

In this Q&A, Annette shares more about the projects she’s working on, how she’s brought green chemistry into her classroom, and her hope for the future of green chemistry. 
read more
Graphic shows screenshots of different elements of the GCTLC platform

Sneak Peek of the GCTLC Design 

 
In November and December 2022, Beyond Benign contracted Bark Media to do the design and theming for the GCTLC, including the color scheme and wireframes for three of the platform’s primary pages. While the design is now being implemented by our developer into the platform itself, we wanted to provide some sneak peeks into what the platform will eventually look like by sharing some snapshots from the original Bark designs. Those snapshots are included above and show the main homepage, a learning object (curriculum resource) page in the GCTLC library, and a user profile and dashboard. 

Hexion has joined an amazing group of organizations focused on supporting the green chemistry community as a GCTLC Founding Sponsor. Does your organization want to support this critical tool? Learn more here
 
sign up for GCTLC updates
Graphic features three upcoming professional development courses for middle school and high school teachers

Summer Professional Development Opportunities for K-12 Teachers
 

Treat yourself to personal and professional growth this summer! We’re excited to offer several professional development courses for middle school and high school teachers at various levels of green chemistry engagement. Join us for one of the following opportunities: 

Advanced Green Chemistry: Connections to Our World
Ready to take green chemistry to the next level in your classroom? Have you already started replacing your labs with safer materials? Join Beyond Benign Certified Lead Teacher Annette Sebuyira as you expand your knowledge of green chemistry principles and practices by analyzing Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award technologies. In this course, you’ll dive into toxicology for chemistry basics and investigate the pedagogy for effective guidance of student-based research projects and inquiry-based projects. (Optional: 3 graduate credits). Learn more and enroll.

Sustainable Science: Contextualizing Chemistry Through Safer Hands-On Labs
Are you a science teacher looking to create a safer, more engaging learning environment for your students? Learn how to weave Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) sustainability content into your classrooms in this remote learning course for middle school and high school science teachers.
Beyond Benign Lead Teacher Erin Mayer will teach this course through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning. Participants will leave with a toolkit of resources and access to a network of other like-minded educators in the region. (Optional: 1 graduate credit.) Learn more and enroll.

Introducing Green Chemistry in the High School Classroom
High school science and engineering teachers: Join us for a course that will support Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) integration in your classes! In this course, Beyond Benign Certified Lead Teacher Cassidy Javner will help prepare you to integrate green chemistry principles and practices into your teaching through real-world sustainable inventions. You’ll also learn how to develop safer labs and lessons aligned to your local standards in an interactive online environment. (Optional: 3 graduate credits). Learn more and enroll.

Opportunities for Students and Faculty at Minority-Serving Institutions


Don’t miss out on these exciting opportunities for students and faculty at Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs).

Grants for ACS Student Chapters 
As part of our Minority Serving Institution initiative, Beyond Benign's Grant Program will offer funding to ACS Student Chapters to help them apply for an ACS Green Chemistry Student Chapter Award. Funding from Beyond Benign can be used to support and run green chemistry projects and events to fulfill the ACS award requirements. Funding for five ACS Student Chapters will be awarded, and preference will be given to Chapters from MSIs or whose members are from minority communities and/or work with minority communities. We encourage any ACS Student Chapter from any MSI to apply! Awards are $400 and will be considered on a first-come-first-served basis. Thank you to 3M for their financial support. Learn more and apply here.

Green Chemistry Education Challenge Awards
Beyond Benign is now offering two new Challenge Awards to support the integration of green chemistry into educational settings at Minority Serving Institutions. Through this grant, we seek to empower educators with the tools to prepare the future workforce with the skills to innovate for a sustainable future. This grant is for faculty and students to run green chemistry activities and outreach events to bring green chemistry to their campus or community! Two awards up to $5,000 USD are available. Faculty and student members at GCC-Signing Minority Serving Institutions are encouraged to apply. (You can apply for the award and submit your Green Chemistry Commitment Signing forms at the same time to be eligible!) Learn more and apply here by April 30.

Free virtual registration to ACS GC&E:  
ACS GC&E virtual conference registration scholarships are available for Minority-Serving Institutions, international ACS Student Chapters, high school students, and some international institutions! We encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity. Learn more here.

 
Join us at ACS Spring 2023! Stop by our booth #314! March 26-30. Online and in person in Indianapolis, Indiana

Let’s Meet Up at ACS!


ACS Spring Meeting 2023: Join our team at booth #314 during the conference to meet us, connect with colleagues, and learn how to get involved with the green chemistry education movement! 

Below are presentations by Beyond Benign teammates during the ACS Spring meeting:

Sunday, March 26
  • Sustainability solutions for a changing world, that is green chemistry | Greg Sloan, Lead Teacher
  • Development and assessing the impact of student-generated videos, infographics, and open education resources related to sustainability and green chemistry | Alexey Leontyev, GCTLC Leadership Committee Member
  • Systems thinking approaches to teach green and sustainable chemistry in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) Glenn Hurst, GCTLC Leadership Committee Member
     
Monday, March 27
  • Chemical Epistemology: Understanding why people think the way they think as the first step towards a sustainable futureJohn Warner, Co-Founder and Board Member
  • Marine biorefinery and green chemistry education: A crossroad towards a sustainable future | Juliana Vidal, Higher Education Program Manager
  • Greening your chemistry curriculum: How to get started | David Laviska, GCC Advisory Board Member and GCTLC Leadership Committee Member
     
Wednesday, March 29
  • Environmental justice: Achieving global equity through green and sustainable chemistry | Edward Brush, GCC Advisory Board Member
join us at the ACS Spring Meeting
We're hriing! Beyond Benign is seeking a Content Manager and Database Coordinator to join our team of passionate individuals working to advance the field of green chemistry. Apply today!

Join our team


Beyond Benign is seeking two professional individuals for our new positions: Content Manager and Database Coordinator. Please share these with friends, recent graduates, or other colleagues that might be interested! 

The Content Manager role will be responsible for the management and overseeing the development of green chemistry resources and professional development trainings for K-12 and Higher Education educators. Learn more here

The Database Coordinator will be responsible for the management of the community database and the day-to-day technical operation of the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC) online platform, as well as reporting for the organization. Learn more here.

Featured Resource: Tools in Green Chemistry


In this installment of our Green Chemistry Connections series, industry leaders and academics share tools that can be used to evaluate and assess the implementation of green chemistry and sustainable practices. 
 
explore the tools
Upcoming events from Beyond Benign
Green Chemistry Connections. Monthly opportunities to network with your peers and learn about green chemistry education. Register FREE today!

Green Chemistry Connections: March 15


Join us for our monthly Green Chemistry Connections event around green chemistry education using the Green Chemistry Students Learning Objectives from the Green Chemistry Commitment program as a loose framework. Register to stay in the loop about upcoming speakers. The next event is on March 15!
sign up
Join us for a conversation on Sustainable Invention — its impact on the development and design process, and the environment.

Observe, Wonder, Think: March 16


Calling all K-12 teachers! Create safer, more engaging learning environments by integrating green chemistry and sustainable science principles into your classroom. Join us on March 16 for a conversation on sustainable invention with Beyond Benign Lead Teachers Greg Sloan and Erin Mayer. 
sign up
Green Chemistry Commitment Info Session. Join us to learn more about the GCC's benefits and outcomes! April 13, Noon ET

Green Chemistry Commitment Information Session: April 13
 

The Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) is a framework to unite the Green Chemistry higher education community around a common vision to expand the community of green chemists; grow departmental resources; improve connections to job opportunities; and affect systemic and lasting change in chemistry education. Join us for an information session where you can learn more about the GCC’s benefits and outcomes of becoming a GCC Signer. 
 
learn more
Save the date! Green Chemistry Commitment Summit 10-Year Anniversary. Join us on June 12 to celebrate 10 years of the Green Chemistry Commitment with many more to come! Long Beach, California, and online.

Green Chemistry Commitment Summit: June 12


You’re invited! Join Beyond Benign and the higher ed green chemistry community at the Annual Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) Summit on June 12 to celebrate 10 years of the GCC! 

Integrating green chemistry into our higher education system is fundamental. During the GCC Summit, you will be able to connect with the growing and inspiring community of chemists and educators from around the globe; gain valuable connections, resources, and insights; and learn how you can be an essential part of a systemic change in chemistry education.

Join the GCC Summit in person in Long Beach, California, or online — and invite your colleagues! The Summit is June 12 from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. PT (the day before the ACS GCI GC&E Conference in Long Beach). Your institution will be able to share your work with the GCC Community at the Summit and the 26th Green Chemistry and Engineering conference by submitting a poster about your institution’s work toward green chemistry education.
 
learn more and register

What we're tracking
 

Events
 

ECOSChem Webinar on “Sustainable Chemistry” Definition and Criteria
March 1, 11 a.m. - noon ET | In partnership with the Lowell Centre for Sustainable Production, Beyond Benign will be co-hosting a webinar on Wednesday, March 1, summarizing work over the past year by the Expert Committee on Sustainable Chemistry (ECOSChem), a group of 20 leading representatives from industry, government, academic, and non-profit organizations from across the world. The ECOSChem group has spent the past 12 months developing an actionable definition and criteria for “sustainable chemistry” that will help inform policymakers, industry researchers, educators, and so many others in building a more sustainable future through chemistry (link to the definition and report available here). Come hear more about the definition and criteria from the project team and members of the expert committee as they highlight the importance of this work moving forward. Register here to attend.


Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference 
June 13-15 | Join us at the 27th Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering (GC&E) Conference, hosted by our partners at the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute (ACS GCI) this summer. This hybrid event will be June 13-15 in Long Beach, California, and online. The Conference organizers are offering 20% off in-person group registration for five or more faculty or 10 or more students from the same institution. Additionally, the ACS GCI is expanding access with GC&E virtual registration scholarships. Scholarships are available for students, postdocs, and faculty who would not otherwise be able to attend the GC&E Conference and who currently attend, work for, or are part of: A Minority Serving Institution, an institution in a country classified by the Word Bank as lower-middle-income or is in Central/South America or the Caribbean, an International ACS Student Chapter, or a high school/secondary school. Learn more here.



Opportunities


Global essay competition: Young Voices in the Chemical Sciences for Sustainability
The International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development, in collaboration with the Royal Society of Chemistry, is launching an annual essay competition on the role of the chemical sciences in sustainability. The application deadline is March 31. Learn more and apply here.
 


Green Chemistry Jobs

  • Dr. Vania Zuin, a member of our GCTLC Leadership Committee, is looking for a Research Associate to join her group at Leuphana University (Germany) and work with Renewable Resources. Learn more about the application process here
  • The "Chemical Invention Factory – John Warner Center for start-ups in Green Chemistry" at the Technische Universität Berlin is looking for a Communications Manager to join their team. Learn more here.

Thank You to Our Top-Level Partners

Graphic includes logos for Beyond Benign's top-level partners: Impossible Foods, Biogen, Millipore Sigma, The Lemelson Foundation, Argosy Foundation, Target, DEQ, 3M, The New York Community Trust, Dow, New York State Pollution Prevention Institute, and the State of Washington Department of Ecology
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