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Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry September, 2015
BCGC NEWSLETTER
Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry
Helping to transform society's production and use of chemicals and materials
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The University of California Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry is the nation's first major academic program to advance green chemistry through interdisciplinary scholarship. BCGC pursues innovations in education, research and
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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.
http://bcgc.berkeley.edu
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BCGC Associate Peidong Yang, the S. K. and Angela Chan Distinguished Professor of Energy and Professor of Chemistry at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory received the award from U.S. Department of Energy secretary Ernest Moniz on July 23. The award honors scientists for research and development contributions in
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support of DOE’s science, energy and national security mission.Dr. Yang was honored for “discoveries advancing synthesis and understanding of nanoscale materials, and for developing novel semiconductor nanowires and metal nanocrystals impacting applications and devices.”
Peidong Yang Wins the E.O. Lawrence Award!
September, 2015
In this issue:
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The Written Word
Student Travel with a Mission: Vietnam
Curricula Vitalized!
Opportunities
Dialogue: Safer Chemicals for Consumers and Workers
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Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry
September, 2015
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BCGC Associate Director Dr. Megan Schwarzman recently reviewed author Ken Geiser’s new book, Chemicals Without Harm, in the September 11, issue of Science magazine.
http://scim.ag/1LmtgW8
SAGE fellow Noah Kittner, together with his mentor, Dr. Dan Kammen of the Energy and Resources Group, UC Berkeley, recently had a letter to the editor published in the magazine The Economist. They advocate for a balanced approach to energy production in the Balkans based on more sustainable practices.
BCGC Associate Director Dr. Heather Buckley was featured in Fast Company. for her work developing alternate roofing materials for the Indian market.
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3050271/a-‐cheap-‐modular-‐system-‐will-‐provide-‐better-‐shelter-‐indians-‐with-‐shoddy-‐metal-‐roofs
The Written Word
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SAGE IGERT fellow Cecilia Han Springer visited Vietnam in August to assess the technology and policy drivers of aluminum production in Southeast Asia. She conducted qualitative research of bauxite and alumina producers and government officials. Her travel research will support the broader goal of assessing the life cycle of the Asian aluminum supply chain with the intent of finding opportunities for more sustainable practices.
Cecilia is guided by Energy and Resource Group faculty, Dr. David Anthoff, and was hosted by Dr. Jason Morris-‐Jung of the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore. Her travel was supported by the international research and education fund of the NSF funded Systems Approach to Green Energy (SAGE) IGERT program of the Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry.
Berkeley SAGE Student travels to Vietnam
Typical Asian Bauxite mine
Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry
September, 2015
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Beyond Benign
kicks off its fall chemistry education webinars with a talk by Dr. Andy Dicks, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto.
Selected Green Chemistry Metrics for Educators, September 30, 2015, 2 -‐ 3 pm EDT
Description: This webinar will begin with a discussion of several mass metrics of importance to green chemistry educators and their students (atom economy, reaction mass efficiency, E factor and process mass intensity (PMI)). Links will be made to the industrial significance of these metrics (especially PMI), and examples of how they are taught in undergraduate laboratory and lecture environments will be given. Lastly, other relevant green metrics related to solvent and reagent usage will be outlined, along with a related classroom activity.
To Register : https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6629723431816734722
UC Davis Chemistry Department
embraces the Green Chemistry Commitment and celebrates during the regular seminar series on October 8 at 4 PM. Allen Doyle, Sustainability Manager, writes: “Curriculum development has been adopted by a faculty member, and several more are interested, and the labs already have several attributes that demonstrate the principles. The instructors of the organic labs are certified as “GreenLabs” through our engagement program, and they have invited me to develop prompts around the lab, in the manual and a “passport” stamp book for the 4000 students that take organic every year. (I’m really thrilled to be their partner!).” For more information about the celebration: [email protected]
Curricula Vitalized: green chemistry education notes
Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry
September, 2015
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Opportunities Events
Frontiers in Green Materials
December 7, 2015
London, UK https://www.ice.org.uk/events/frontiers-
in-green-materials
BizNGO & Chemical Footprint
10th Annual Meeting
Boston, Massachusetts
December 8, 9, 2015 http://www.bizngo.org/resources/entry/biz
ngo-‐chemical-‐footrpint-‐2015
Safer Chemicals Advocacy Fellow
The Natural Resources Defense Council is now accepting applications for a full-‐time, limited-‐term Safer Chemicals Advocacy Fellow. The Policy Advocate will work with NRDC's Health Program, a diverse team of lawyers, policy specialists and scientists, to address public health threats from toxics in our food supply, drinking water, and the environment. The position will be located in Washington, DC or San Francisco.
For further information about NRDC, please visit www.nrdc.org
Dow Sustainability Innovation Student Challenge Award (SISCA)
Applications are now live for this award which is a UC Berkeley award to encourage and promote sustainable solutions to the world's most pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges. The winning team receives $10,000.
GreenScreen® Program Manager:
Green Screen is looking for a technically and scientifically skilled individual to fill the position of managing their GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals program. Use of GreenScreen, which now sets the gold standard for chemical hazard assessments, is growing rapidly with its integration into building standards and the electronics and apparel industries. If you are interested in working with a dynamic organization on the leading edge of advancing safer alternatives to toxic chemicals, please see the full job description here.
Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry
September, 2015
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Opportunities, continued
California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is hiring!
https://www.dtsc.ca.gov/SCP/Career-‐Opportunities.cfm
For the next several months DTSC will have open positions including a Senior Environmental Scientist position and other openings for scientists and economists.
Senior Chemist-‐MSI at Nike
http://jobs.nike.com/portland/manufacturing-‐﹠-‐engineering/senior-‐chemist-‐material-‐science-‐innovation-‐jobs
The Material Science Innovation (MSI) department aims to accelerate Nike's use of innovative, high performance, and more sustainable products. This position will specifically focus on better performance chemistries and those performance chemistries and materials of that will ensure our continued leadership in sustainability.
Dialogue: Safer Chemicals for Consumers and Workers
BCGC Associate Director Dr. Heather Buckley writes a compelling case for including worker safety in any legislation controlling toxic chemicals in the latest digital issue of The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/safer-‐chemicals-‐would-‐benefit-‐both-‐consumers-‐and-‐workers-‐47445
She reminds us of the danger of assumptions-‐ about protection from harmful chemicals for both consumers and workers. Drawing on her experience in Ahmedabad, India, making more benign roofing tiles in far from benign factory conditions, she draws a parallel to first world consumers’ faith in government consumer protection that often is not there. Progress in California consumer protection, such as the California Department of Toxic Substance Control’s (DTSC) Safer Consumer Product (SCP) regulations of 2013 is heartening, as it includes worker safety.
Dr. Buckley insists that we consider overseas workers in this calculus since the global market has put products in our hands that are likely made half way round the world in unsafe conditions. Broadening the definition of what should define “safe” is her point, and she makes it well.
