Welcome to the Green Chemistry Education News and Events Blog! Here you will find a current list of green chemistry education related announcements, news summaries, and conference and event information. A link to the green chemistry event calendar is also available to the right. Michigan news and events will be highlighted, as well as important national and international green chemistry education items. Visit this page often to stay up to date with the latest green chemistry education news!
Previous archived MI Green Chemistry Education Newsletters may be found here.
Student Travel Scholarships to GC&E Conference
The ACS Green Chemistry Institute®, through a generous grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), is making available scholarship opportunities for students to attend the 17th Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference (GC&E) in Washington, DC, June 18-20, 2013 and the GC&E Student Workshop on Monday, June 17, 2013.
The NSF scholars program will reimburse students for travel, accommodations, and registrations fee, up to a maximum of $1000. Eligibility includes undergraduate, graduate or postdoctoral students registered in an accredited U.S. college or university. Applications are due on May 20, 2013 by 5:00 p.m. EDT.
Take advantage of this opportunity to enhance your understanding of sustainable and green chemistry and engineering!
For application instructions and further details, see: 2013 NSF Student Travel Scholarships
GC&E Student Workshop – Monday, June 17, 2013
Located at the American Chemical Society headquarters in Washington DC, this workshop will give students a better understanding of the principles of green chemistry and engineering through a series of focused discussions and hands on activities led by experts in the field. Students will also get to demonstrate their understanding through a fun outreach activity with K-8 children.
The 17th Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference – June 18-20, 2013
Students will learn about the innovations and applications of green chemistry and engineering that are contributing towards designing a more sustainable world. The conference program includes over 30 technical sessions covering 23 topics, daily keynotes, a careers workshop, and opportunity to network at the opening night reception.
Green Chemistry Webinar and Workshop Series for K-12 Teachers
A series of green chemistry events aimed at K-12 science teachers will be held this year, hosted by the GVSU Chemistry Department, the Regional Math and Science Center, and the MI Michigan Green Chemistry Clearinghouse. The series, entitled Putting the Green in Next Generation Science, will focus on helping K-12 teachers produce lesson plans and activities that integrate green chemistry and sustainability into teaching and learning in their classrooms. General objectives of these sessions will be to increase awareness in K-12 education about green and sustainable chemistry, form communities of teachers who are interested in green chemistry, and encourage collaboration to develop green chemistry curriculum. Included will be discussions on how Green Chemistry concepts relate to the NGSS: Next Generation Science Standards (pending adoption).
The first of these events will be a free online webinar held on Wednesday, May 8th, 6:30 – 7:30 pm. This webinar, The Missing Link: Green Chemistry in the NGSS, will introduce Green Chemistry and its principles, discuss resources available for teachers, and highlight the Michigan Green Chemistry Clearinghouse (http://migreenchemistry.org/). Participants are encouraged to attend this initial overview to learn more about the program and workshop sessions that will follow. Although this webinar is free, registration is required. Register for this webinar at http://migreenchemistry.org/ and follow the link for this series of events. For more information on this webinar, contact Dalila Kovacs at kovacsd@gvsu.edu
The second event of the series is a workshop, to be held at GVSU on Thursday, August 15, 2013 and is intended to facilitate interested teachers to meet and organize collaborative groups to develop green and sustainable chemistry and integrated engineering and science lesson plans based on the Next Generation Science Standards.
Additional workshops for lesson plan development and network opportunities will be available to teachers at the Michigan GreenUp Conference on October 24th at GVSU’s Eberhard Center in downtown Grand Rapids. On-line collaborative opportunities and additional workshops will become available for the entire school year 2013-14.
For more information, please visit http://migreenchemistry.org/ or contact Dalila Kovacs (kovacsd@gvsu.edu).
HEASC Sustainability Fellows Applications
Contribute to a sustainable future at the national level! Apply to be a Sustainability Fellow at HEASC (Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium). As a Fellow, you will be part of a group of outstanding individuals, each contributing to an important part of the national trend toward sustainability in higher education. You will spend 3-5 hours each week working on high impact projects identified by HEASC. To apply and see some of the sustainability resources and projects of HEASC member organizations, visit the program website here.
S-Lab Awards
A new awards scheme which recognises good practice in laboratory design, operation and management in all sectors, and in laboratory-based teaching and learning within educational institutions, that creates improved performance whilst enhancing safety and sustainability. There are seven award categories, and the winners of the Awards will be announced at the S-Lab conference.
Both the Conference and the Awards are organised by S-Lab (Safe, Successful and Sustainable Laboratories) in association with the National HE STEM Programme who are assisting with the education-related aspects (via the University of Bradford Greening STEM project and Regional Hub).
Supporting organisations include HEaTED, The Royal Academy of Engineering. and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Cengage Learning Seeking Contributors
Publisher Cengage Learning is seeking contributors of Green Chemistry educational materials for its publications and OWL, its online homework system. Please contact the Executive Editor of Cengage Learning, Lisa Lockwood if you are interested in contributing! Email: lisa.lockwood@cengage.com
EPA to Review Toxicity Ratings
“Congress orders the Environmental Protection Agency to review the toxicity ratings of some chemicals and improve its process for making such assessments.” More information is available from “The Scientist” here.
MacArthur Fellowship Awarded to Melanie Sanford (University of Michigan)
Melanie Sanford of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) received a MacArthur Fellowship for her work on transition metal catalysts in organic reactions!
An interview is available at http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2011/oct/05/chemistry-professor-talks-teaching-genius-grant/.