2016 Green Chemistry Gordon Research Conference

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

1637843 Kruper The Green Chemistry Gordon Research Conference has been held biannually since 1991 and is hosted in three recurring geographies over a six year cycle: U.S., EU, and Asia Pacific. Green chemistry is becoming pivotal in environmental engineering because of an increased awareness of chemical pollution. Green chemistry is one approach to minimizing pollution in air, water soil and solid waste, while increasing jobs in the chemical field. At its inception the conference was heavily focused on Green Chemistry Principals (The 12 principles offered by Anastas and Warner) used to govern organic chemistry transformations in academic and industrial applications. Since then, the conference has expanded these aspects to green chemistry applications in chemical feedstock selection (non-petroleum based), advanced materials, novel energy solutions, new trends in regulatory and toxicology as well as chemical lifecycle analysis. Catalysis in chemical processes and transformations offers the advantage of lowering activation barriers and therefore is a topical subject in these discussions. These diverse topics make this conference stimulating; however, the ultimate objective of green chemistry is innovation. The commercialization of more efficient processes and products, the design of which is based upon the twelve principles, is displacing incumbent solutions that are less environmentally acceptable. As expected, innovation moves slowly but surely mainly due to capital costs in reforming the chemical industry. This conference is the major intellectual front for sustaining the charge, and real-world green chemistry examples from the specialty chemical, agrochemical and pharmaceutical industry will be highlighted. So far, the PI has assembled an intellectually and ethnically diverse group of speakers (25 of 29 required speakers) of world class expertise. This includes approximately 30% of female plenary speakers and four 2015 National ACS Award winners. This project also sponsors a Gordon Research Seminar which slightly precedes the GRC conference and the PI is reserving several speaker slots which allow the younger aspiring scientists (grad students and post-docs) to present their technology and research. The conference will be held at Stoweflake Resort in Vermont, July 31-Aug 5.