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The ACS Green and Sustainable Chemistry Summer School (GSCSS) is a highly selective week-long program for graduate students and postdoctoral chemists and engineers. Each year, approximately 60 exceptional students from North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean are selected from a large pool of applicants and gather for this fully funded once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The American Chemical Society pays for all eligible travel and program costs.

Organized and hosted by the Green Chemistry Institute since 2003, the summer school typically features more than a dozen expert instructors who share knowledge and skills from across a broad spectrum of topics directly relevant to green chemistry and sustainability. Throughout the program, students attend lectures and interactive study/project sessions, present posters about their own research, hold discussions, and spend time networking both with each other and the GSCSS faculty. Alumni of this program have gone on to become leaders in many green chemistry and sustainability-related fields and provide participants with an extensive network of professional contacts.  

We are excited to announce that the Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC) has created the CIC Green Subject Division. Its objective is to bring together the community of researchers and practitioners of the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) and Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering (CSChE) who identify as contributing to, or having an interest in, green chemistry and chemical engineering.
 
The new Green Subject Division will:

• Organize symposia on green and sustainable chemistry, technology, and chemical engineering at the annual CSC and CSChE conferences. 
• Bolster industrial participation at the annual CSC and CSChE conferences. 
• Provide professional training in green/sustainable practices at the annual CSC and CSChE conferences. 
• Present Canadian Green Chemistry and Engineering Awards. 
• …and further activities that will serve our community.

*Save the date*
The Green Division's inaugural Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held by Zoom on Tuesday, Jun.18 at 1 PM ET.

Join Zoom Meeting 
Meeting ID: 850 7250 8961
Passcode: 871250

The AGM can be accessed via the Green Division Webpage.

Positions of leadership are open! At the AGM, we will elect a Division Chair, Division Vice-Chair, and Division Secretary-Treasurer as well as up to six (6) Division Members at Large.  If you or someone you know would be interested, please ask them to communicate with Joelle Pelletier at joelle.pelletier@umontreal.ca. Spread the news to your research group and colleagues!
 
If you will attend CSC 2024 in Winnipeg, we will also be holding an Information Session on Tuesday June 4 from 5:20 to 7:20 (Central Time) in Room 9.  Please drop by, learn more and get involved. All those interested in green and sustainable chemistry, technology and chemical engineering are welcome, including students and postdocs: we invite all to contribute to shaping the new Green Subject Division. 
 
We look forward to working with you to make the CIC Green Subject Division part of our future.
 

Share your photos for a chance to win $100 and a Beyond Benign t-shirt!

As part of the green chemistry education community, you’re doing amazing things in your classrooms, labs, and communities all the time. We want the world to be able to take a behind-the-scenes look at what makes your green chemistry work exciting and special!

From now until April 24, share your photos for a chance to win $100, a Beyond Benign t-shirt, and a special feature in an upcoming Beyond Benign article and newsletter.

Not sure what to submit? We’re looking for photos of you and your community in action. Show us your classroom working on a green chem project or your peers running experiments in the lab. Think about ways to show our community what it means to be an active part of green chemistry education.

Beyond Benign is excited to invite all educators, students, and staff from higher education institutions to a Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) Info Session on April 24, 2024. At this special event, you’ll have the opportunity to delve into the transformation of chemistry education with the renowned co-founder of green chemistry, Dr. John Warner.

Who: Higher education faculty, students, staff, and their peers (GCC signer status not required!)
What: A virtual meeting in which attendees will learn from one of the world’s foremost green chemistry leaders about green chemistry’s trajectory in higher education and strategies for implementation and communication.
When: April 24th, 2024, from 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM (EST)
Where: Online (meeting details to be sent after registration)

Why Green Chemistry Education Now:

Green chemistry offers educators and students the chance to practice chemistry in ways that benefit society and the planet, but transitioning to these methodologies can be challenging. Join us in this GCC Info Session to connect with peers, explore strategies for integrating green chemistry at your institution, and contribute to a global movement toward molecular and sustainable chemical design. Shape the future of chemistry education and innovation with us.

Meet Dr. John Warner:

Dr. John Warner co-founded the field of green chemistry and Beyond Benign. With a distinguished career spanning academia and industry, John is renowned for his trailblazing work in creating sustainable solutions inspired by nature. His contributions to green chemistry, including the co-authorship of its defining principles, have earned him widespread recognition and prestigious awards.

U.S. Institutions, Join Us in Our 25×25 Initiative:

Beyond Benign aims to ensure that 25% of graduating chemists in the United States have a background in green chemistry by 2025, and the involvement of our U.S. community is vital to reaching this target. Join us at this GCC Info Session to discover how you can contribute to transforming chemistry education and expanding access to green chemistry resources for all students and institutions. (Non-U.S. institutions are still encouraged to join us!)

About the Green Chemistry Commitment:

The Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) serves as a unifying framework for the higher education community, fostering the expansion of green chemists, enhancing departmental resources, facilitating connections to job opportunities, and driving systemic and enduring change in chemistry education. Learn more here.

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;
• 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. We’ll also be sharing our latest initiatives for the higher education community including the Green Chemistry Teaching & Learning Community (GCTLC) Online Platform and our Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) Initiative.

When your institution becomes a GCC signer, you will gain:

• Access to a broad and supportive community of chemistry experts;
• A flexible framework for green chemistry curriculum and training;
• A benchmark to track progress on learning and research objectives;
• A network dedicated to shifting how and what the next generation of chemists learn;
• Access to funding opportunities and projects.

The GCC is a departmental commitment, so please consider inviting your colleagues or department chair to this event.

Dr. Nasrin Mirsaleh-Kohan, Associate Professor of Physics and the Division Head of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Texas Woman’s University.

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Dr. Nasrin Mirsaleh-Kohan is an Associate Professor of Physics and the Division Head of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Texas Woman’s University. She is dedicated to making STEM accessible through community engagement and creating programs that benefit students from underrepresented and marginalized communities with opportunities to excel in STEM. She is a Leadership Fellow for SENCER, the national academic organization for Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities. Additionally, she holds the position of co-director for SENCER Center for Innovation-Southwest.

Kohan's research laboratory investigates the interaction between DNA and currently utilizes platinum-based anticancer drugs. She is also interested in the applications of nanomaterials, especially carbon nanotubes, and their use in the capture and storage of carbon dioxide. In addition to this research, Kohan is interested in understanding teaching pedagogy and student learning, particularly in science classes.

The GCTLC team is now doing regular virtual drop-in office hours. If you have questions about any of the following:

• GCTLC library or review process
• help with submitting resources to the library
• moderation and training for moderators
• posting in forums
• creating and moderating groups
• or even just how to get started!

you can always drop in and ask us! The Zoom link is provided below and is also available in the Guidelines for Submission and Review of Learning Objects on the GCTLC.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88282251706?pwd=Kzdqa2FtZUFoRk1HVVVRSk5kWFU4Zz09 

Meeting ID: 882 8225 1706

Passcode: 032096

Official Event Description:

The Dwain L Ford Lecture Series is co-sponsored by the Chemistry Honors Society, Andrews University Office of Research & Creative Scholarship, and Andrews University Community Engagement Council. It seeks to bring community relevant science to professionals, nonprofessionals, scientists, nonscientists, students and the general public.

Green Chemistry: The Missing Elements

Join us on Thursday, October 12th, for a lecture given by Beyond Benign Co-Founder and Board Member, Dr. John Warner. More information about this free, hybrid event is forthcoming!

Event Details

• Who: Open/Entire Community
• When: October 12th at 4:30 PM
• How: Find Zoom information here, or attend in-person at Andrews University

Join a worldwide discussion of our environmental issues and how to achieve a more sustainable future on September 25th! The Global Conversation on Sustainability (GCS) is a project organized by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and the International Younger Chemists Network to connect scientists around the world, engage young researchers, and inspire our whole society to take action and address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals!

Sustainable action begins with a conversation, so invite your institution and organize your event! More information about the GCS project, important resources for initiating the discussion, and guidelines on organizing your own Conversation on Sustainability can be found here!

#Sustain4All

• Who: Open/Entire Community
• When: September 25th
• How: Find out here.

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Join us at the University of Birmingham for Materials Metabolism: Green Chemistry for a Circular Economy, a general interest seminar talk, given by Beyond Benign Co-Founder and Father of Green Chemistry, Dr. John Warner.

Official Talk Description:

As we design products to be more sustainable and to fit within a circular economy we are best served to recognize and learn from patterns within nature.

There exists a circular pendulum that swings between the natural world of stable ecosystems and the human built world of products. Centrally located between these two systems exists the domain of the “materials metabolism”, the molecular mechanistic foundation of the assembly and disassembly of molecules and materials. Nature typically carries out the deconstruction and construction of materials through catabolism and anabolism, performing both metabolic processes synchronously. Human industrial design has evolved to perform the synthesis and breakdown processes in spatially and temporarily separate spaces. The principles of green chemistry provide a logical framework to design products within the materials metabolism. This presentation will discuss the general concept of the materials metabolism and provide real world green chemistry examples.

For directions to the talk, refer to the QR code included in the event graphic!

GCC Special Invite ONLY – Join us for this special information session just for GCC signers! At this event, you’ll learn about our plans for the upcoming academic year and hear about opportunities to participate in our Green Chemistry Connections, taking place from October 2023 – May 2024.

Some exciting information we’ll cover:

• Grant opportunities
• Green Chemistry Connections leadership opportunities
• Details about GCTLC accounts and connections
• A chance to work with educators from diverse backgrounds to co-design a syllabus & provide resources for a course to be piloted in Spring 2024 for the GCTLC
• An opportunity to join a team creating a module or short educational activity to demonstrate the ability for the Pharos/ChemForward tools to be used within an academic setting. 

…and much more! We look forward to seeing you there!

• Who: GCC Signers
• What: Learn about our plans for the year and opportunities specific to you!
• When: September 20, 2023 at noon ET
• Where: Online (we’ll email you details about how to connect)