Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) Affiliate Student Chapter (PLU Chem Club) has increased its focus on community outreach in the 2017-2018 academic year. Our club has been using compostable paper plates and utensils during events and avoids environmentally-harmful chemicals during demonstrations. In the interest of spreading chemistry awareness in the general community, we connected a chemist who works in the Washington State Department of Ecology and held a seminar for the PLU community regarding the Safer Choice, new labels for safer chemical-based products. Additionally, for National Chemistry Week, we worked with the PLU chemistry and geosciences faculty and the Puget Sound Section of the ACS to co-host Chemistry Rocks, an event to explore the rocks and minerals in our daily lives.<br/><br/>Our community outreach includes our partnership with PLU’s Center for Community Engagement and Service (CCES) to provide hands-on demos for local 5th grade students visiting our campus. We hosted annual celebrations of Mole Day Eve Spooktacular and Desserts & Demos. Mole Day Eve was aimed at encouraging interest in chemistry and bringing together PLU students, faculty, and families from the Tacoma area, while Desserts & Demos was planned during a visitation weekend for prospective students. At both events, we provide treats including the periodic table of brownies and liquid nitrogen ice cream as well as educational hands-on experiments for our guests. Overall, we will be continuing to incorporate ideas of sustainability and green chemistry into our events like movie nights, trivia nights, and many other meaningful and educational gatherings.

Interrelationships between green chemistry, sustainability, and the community

255th National Meeting (2018)

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