A Greener and Sustainable Chemistry course has been offered at Washington College for the past 15 years. Relying on chemistry as a “science for society”, three goals are proposed for this cross-disciplinary green chemistry course: To introduce green chemistry from a historical point of view and present applications in our everyday life, in academia, and industry worldwide. To place green chemistry in the wider world and discover how green chemistry can help in solving emerging global challenges. To engage in “forest thinking” across disciplinary boundaries using green chemistry as the driving force. Students are asked to use their critical thinking skills to complete six assignments in this course, three of which are linked to global challenges highlighted in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The three assignments are briefly introduced below: One of the units is based on the role of green chemistry in meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development goals as well as solving contemporary moral and social issues worldwide. Students are asked to choose a sustainable development goal or a contemporary global issue of their interest and design a website emphasizing the place of green chemistry in making a difference in our society. The following unit is focused on the cross-disciplinary nature of green chemistry. Students need to put together an advertisement pamphlet highlighting a story used to raise awareness about sustainability for elementary school children. The final unit is about the creation of an innovation mini-proposal and a 5-minute pitch presentation in front of the class. Each student needs to apply his/her greener mind to a chemical reaction, process or product that is not environmentally friendly, and come up with an alternative and original design. A description of the three assignments, assessments, and outcomes will be discussed during the presentation.

Discovering the United Nations sustainable development goals through the integration of systems thinking in a greener and sustainable chemistry course

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.