Towards the greening of our minds: Green and sustainable chemistry Dr. Anne Marteel-Parrish Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Outline Introduction General design and goals of the course Syllabus (format, content, and assignments) Achievements and conclusions Questions?

Introduction Washington College: –Private, selective, independent liberal arts and science college –Located in Chestertown on Maryland’s Eastern Shore –Founded in 1782 by William Smith under the patronage of George Washington –Tenth-oldest college in the country and first college chartered in the new nation –1,350 students –135 faculty members

General design of the course 300-level course offered every other Spring Requirements: 2 semesters of general chemistry and 1 semester of organic chemistry Designed for: –Chemistry and biology majors and minors, who are interested in the future of our planet No laboratory but chemical demonstrations may take place during the class period

Goals of the course To LEARN about green chemistry, prevention of pollution at the source, protection of the environment and human being, which all lead to sustainable development, To use REAL-WORLD examples to illustrate how CREATIVE THINKING and PROBLEM SOLVING can yield substantial effects in academia and in industry, To OPEN THEIR MINDS about green chemistry in the developed and developing countries,

Goals of the course To GAIN general academic development in WRITING and ORAL PRESENTATION skills while working on a green chemistry topic, and To DEVELOP communication and discussion skills. OVERALL GOAL: Change the way our future generation perceives chemistry

Syllabus: Format and Content Semester is divided in 5 sections:  First section: foundations of green chemistry and sustainability in a lecture format interspersed with a call for questions every 10 minutes.  Second section: applications of green chemistry and sustainability in academia and industry. A list of real-world examples is provided to the students who pick a topic of interest and then search the literature to come up with an organized plan of discussion for the next class period.

Syllabus: Format and Content  Third section: writing of a four-page article about one of the annual Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards and oral presentation of the accomplishments of the award recipient.  Fourth section: status of green chemistry and sustainability in developing countries followed by a discussion about the book by William McDonough and Michael Braungart entitled “Remaking the Way We Make Things: Cradle to Cradle”. Each student is asked to study a chapter, communicate the findings of a chapter to the class, and then propose some future trends in green chemistry.

Syllabus: Format and Content  Fifth section: presentation of a team mini- proposal. A team of students needs to apply their greener mind to a chemical reaction, process or product that is not environmentally friendly and come up with an alternative design.

Syllabus: First assignment GOALS “The whole way of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking.” –Albert Einstein- Learn about the presidential green chemistry awards Increase awareness about state-of-the-art technological innovations in chemistry

Individual assignment Pick a recent presidential green chemistry award of interest in the provided list of awards Search the appropriate literature and Write a concise article using the scientific way of thinking detailing the accomplishments of the award recipient(s) 4 pages long 25% of final grade Syllabus: First assignment

FORMAT of the article: Introduction –Category and recipient of the award –Focus of the award Experimental section –Previous and new strategies description –Statement about which principles of green chemistry are applied Results and discussion –Results of previous and new strategies –Comparison of experimental processes and results

Syllabus: First assignment Results and discussion continued –Discussion of advantages and drawbacks –Impacts on health, environment, economics –How does this new design work towards a sustainable development? Conclusions –Summary of content of the article –Future experiments including different applications using the same hypotheses Bibliography

Syllabus: Second assignment GOALS: “Saying what we think gives us a wider conversational range than saying what we know.” -Cullen Hightower- Based on the first assignment Use critical thinking to compare traditional and greener approaches and Present in a clear manner the goals and benefits of the new greener design Show understanding of the tools of green chemistry

Syllabus: Second assignment Polish and improve oral presentation skills using Microsoft Power Point Be prepared to answer various types of questions and lead a discussion Individual presentation (15 minutes of presentation and 10 minutes of questions and discussion) 30% of final grade

Syllabus: Third assignment GOALS: “Research is the art of seeing what others see, but thinking what others don’t think” –Ralph Waldo- Team project Elaboration of a green chemistry “mini-proposal” Immersion in the real graduate world: –Search the scientific literature and current news articles –Work out creative thinking and problem solving abilities –Think out-of-the-box!

Syllabus: Third assignment Oral presentation in pairs (20 minutes of presentation and 5 minutes of discussion) 35% of final grade

Achievements and Conclusions Goals of Washington College’s founder William Smith –Students should be able to “think closely and justly” –“Liberal education and ripe judgment should make them capable of thinking for themselves” Goals for students with various backgrounds, interests and experience –Development of analytical thinking –Use of acquired knowledge and ethical sensitivity –Development of clarity of expression

Achievements and Conclusions  Become responsible citizens with a personal fulfillment  Contribute to their communities, nations, and world USING GREEN CHEMISTRY! “The success of Green Chemistry depends directly on the training and dedication of a new generation of chemists: the students of today” Dennis Hjeresen

QUESTIONS? Contact information Marteel-Parrish, A.E. “Towards the Greening of Our Minds: A New Special Topics Course” in J. Chem. Ed., 2007, 84(2),