Educating Future Scientists in Green Chemistry/Sustainability: Preparing the Workforce Jane E. Wissinger Department of Chemistry University of Minnesota The Midwest Bioeconomy and Safer Products Summit: Regional Innovations Solving Global Problems Thursday, February 19, 2015
Overview Undergraduate Education in green chemistry at the U of MN Graduate Student/Postdoc Training through teaching, faculty research & the Center for Sustainable Polymers (CSP) K-12 and Outreach initiatives from the CSP and MN Green Chemistry Forum Industry and Research Scientists Bioeconomy/ Safer Products 1
Undergraduate Education Organic Chemistry Laboratory Course (2311) serving 1100 students a year. Wide-range of disciplines Green Chemistry Approach Experiments that model greener solvents, catalysts, renewable starting materials, minimize waste, less energy, biodegradable products Highlight green innovations through the Presidential Green Chemistry Awards Connect experiments to active research programs in the department and collaborate with faculty 2
Undergraduate Education Contributions Developed and published new experiments Sharing of curriculum materials (locally, nationally) Collaborations with other colleges Outcome Reduced waste in lab 0.92 L down to 0.56 L per student Increased safety awareness and connection of relevancy for all fields of study Inspiration for chem/cheme majors to seek research opportunities in these areas 3
Undergraduate Education Example of a Sustainable Polymer experiment. Development funded by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (Green Chemistry Curriculum Development Grant) and Center for Sustainable Polymers 2 Developed by CSP graduate student Debbie Schneiderman 2 Schneiderman, D. K.; et. al.. J. Chem. Educ. 2014, 91, p. 131-135. 10 4
Undergraduate Education Student Response to Greener Experiments Statement I value the inclusion of green chemistry in the 2311 curriculum I appreciate learning about chemistry that is currently employed in industry % positive responses 92.6 87.9 Liquid CO 2 extraction 5
Undergraduate Education Green Chemistry (4601) Developed by Professors Hillmyer/Tolman Currently taught by Professor Penn Outside speakers, breath of topics, project-based Toxicology Policy making Nanotechnolgy Solvent Alternatives Renewable feedstocks 6
Graduate Students/Postdocs Environment & Green Chemistry 15 Faculty identify with this research focus Environmental computational chemistry and simulations CO 2 conversion Enzymatic oxidations Chemical sensors Nanomaterials applications and cytotoxicity Renewable polymers Center for Sustainable Polymers (NSF CCI) Phase II funded - $20 million/5 years 16 PIs, 41 researchers Strong Partnerships with Companies 7
Graduate Students/Postdocs Graduate Student Workshop Committee Annual workshop related to green chemistry 2014 How to enhance your job credentials with green chemistry and sustainable practices - 5 companies represented* TAs for Green Courses lab and lectures Learning through teaching *As exemplified by the Green Chemistry & Commerce Council (GC3) Policy Statement on Green Chemistry in Higher Education* many companies are encouraging educational institutions to "integrate green chemistry and sustainability principles into chemistry, engineering, and business curricula." The goal being to have a workforce able to solve today's environmental and sustainability problems. Some companies have gone so far as to state that all things being equal, they will preferentially hire people with these skills. 8
K-12 and Outreach Center for Sustainable Polymers Education and Outreach part of mission 4-H (new) St. Paul Public Schools (details) And more (MN State Fair and Energy and U) MN Green Chemistry Forum Educate Minnesota Event (10/2014) MN Science Teachers Association Conference (2/2015) 9
K-12 and Outreach Partnership with St. Paul public schools Teachers provided feedback Tested polymeric medical sutures experiment in 5 classes Presented bioplastics from plant starch at mini-science conference Both experiments provided unique engineering components Thanks to St Paul Central teachers Alka Goyal and Craig Karlen for allowing us to test in their classrooms and trying the bioplastics from the Science House. 10
Educate Minnesota K-12 and Outreach Presentation (Paul Jackson/me) Demos by three U of MN undergrads/future high school teachers Second Presentation Amy Cannon, PhD., Executive Director of Beyond Benign Pat Riley, PhD., Northfield High School Minnesota Science Teacher s Association Conference Presentation (Paul Jackson/me/future high school teacher) 4 hands-on demos modeling greener chemistries Replacement experiments to meet education standards 11
Funding of Educational Events 12
Summary Educating students, teachers, and the public about green & sustainable chemistry yields: Informed consumers wanting safer products Green chemistry minded and innovative scientists Collaborations between academia and industry to address sustainable practices. 13
Green Experiment Development: Acknowledgements Debbie Schneiderman Lindsey Davis Jon Athmann Ming Yu Andrew Mullins Dr. Giang Hoang Aaron Johnson Tomohiro Kubo Dr. Michael Wentzel and students: Chad Gilmer, Christa Blaquiere, Zachary Swingen of Augsburg College Faculty Collaborators: Marc Hillmyer Mark Distefano Paul Jackson (St. Olaf College) Andrew Harned Christopher Douglas Funding: MN Pollution Control Agency - Green Chemistry and Design Curriculum U of MN - Center for Sustainable Polymers Margaret A. Cargill Scholarship Fund (Augsburg College) Center for Chemical Innovation Photography Credits: Eileen Harvala, Laura Seifert, Samantha Meyer 14