For over a decade, the Greener Solutions program at UC Berkeley has used a project-based learning model to partner interdisciplinary graduate students with leading industry partners on projects focused directly on UN Sustainable Development Goals.  The outcomes of these collaborations include safer alternatives to chemicals used as preservatives, corrosion inhibitors, crosslinkers and waterproofing agents. Of equal importance, the participating students collaborate across fields of study, drawing on their different experiences and expertise to come up with truly interdisciplinary solutions. In many cases, these students go on to make immense impacts in the field of Green Chemistry, including developing their own educational programming based on the Greener Solutions model. Here we discuss a case study of the Greener Solutions work involving the replacement of PFAs, following the student work from academic project to internship to professional hiring. As part of this discussion the impact and scalability of the Greener Solutions model will be highlighted, as well as best practices and our vision for future work.

Meeting the greener solutions challenge: The broad, scalable impact of project-based academic/industry partnerships in the classroom

ACS Spring 2022

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