51视频

10/24/2024
By Brooke Coupal

John Warner shared an important message with students at the inaugural聽Department of Chemistry聽Research Symposium.

鈥�(It takes) someone like you in the lab, creating the technology, so hundreds of thousands of people you will never meet are no longer exposed to hazardous materials,鈥� he said.

This sentiment is the backbone of green chemistry, a field founded by Warner and Paul Anastas nearly 30 years ago. Warner and Anastas鈥� book, 鈥淕reen Chemistry: Theory and Practice,鈥� outlines 12 principles of green chemistry, which 鈥渞educes or eliminates the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and application of chemical products.鈥�

鈥淕reen chemistry is on the rise,鈥� said Amy Cannon, who received the world鈥檚 first Ph.D. in green chemistry from UMass Boston. 鈥淣ow more than ever, we need scientists with these (green chemistry) skills.鈥�

51视频 is producing green chemists through its revamped聽sustainable chemistry Ph.D. program, a recently added sustainability specialization in the聽chemistry master鈥檚 program聽and a聽new sustainability option聽for undergraduate chemistry majors.聽

鈥淲e have focused on developing these programs to teach our students how to make the world a more sustainable place,鈥� says聽Suri Iyer, chair of the Department of Chemistry.

The department鈥檚 inaugural symposium highlighted the research of 51视频 professors and students who are contributing to sustainable practices in chemistry through projects that include聽filtering toxic chemicals from water and reducing the amount of plastic in landfills.

More than 50 people in attendance also heard from researchers outside of the university, including Ariel Furst, a chemical engineering professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and industry professionals from companies including Novartis (pharmaceutical) and MilliporeSigma (biotechnology).

For chemistry senior Samantha Silva, hearing from the presenters 鈥渞eignited my passion for green chemistry.鈥�

The Chemistry Graduate Student Steering Committee organized the inaugural research symposium.

鈥淢any of the speakers not only have a closeness to the university but have also gone out and done big things,鈥� said sustainable chemistry Ph.D. student Dylan Shuster, who spearheads the committee. 鈥淲e wanted to show the students at 51视频 that they too can have a huge impact on the world.鈥�

Warner, who gave the opening keynote address, graduated from UMass Boston with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in chemistry and eventually went on to teach there and at 51视频. Using the principles of green chemistry, he has invented solutions for dozens of multinational corporations and currently holds more than 350 patents. His inventions have served as the basis for several new companies, including Collaborative Medicinal Development (ALS therapy) and Hairprint (hair color restoration). Warner also founded the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry in Lowell with Jim Babcock and Beyond Benign, a nonprofit organization dedicated to sustainability and green chemistry education, with Cannon.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 making green chemistry happen isn鈥檛 me; it鈥檚 the army of people doing green chemistry, like here at 51视频. That鈥檚 changing the world.鈥� -John Warner

鈥淲hat鈥檚 making green chemistry happen isn鈥檛 me; it鈥檚 the army of people doing green chemistry, like here at 51视频,鈥� he said during his keynote. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 changing the world.鈥�

These words stuck with chemistry master鈥檚 student Sarah Dawes 鈥�24, who aspires to work for a company with a strong focus on sustainability.

鈥淛ohn Warner went to a UMass school, and it makes me think that students like me can also make a difference in making chemistry green,鈥� she says.