Travel Support for 2018 Green Chemistry Gordon Research Conference

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

CBET- 1833650 PI: Subramaniam, Bala The rapid expansion of the global commodity chemicals industry presents a significant opportunity to promote sustainability. Resource-efficient technologies are urgently needed to save energy, conserve raw materials, and minimize harm to the environment and human health. This grant will provide partial support for US-based graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and early career scientists from diverse backgrounds to attend the 2018 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) in Green Chemistry to be held from July 28 to August 3, 2018, at the Grand Hotel Rey Don Jaime, in Castelldefels, near Barcelona, Spain. This GRC aims to promote interactions between academia, industry and government from various countries on frontier topics in green chemistry/engineering, environment and sustainability. The theme of the 2018 Green Chemistry GRC is "Addressing the Challenges at the Energy-Materials-Food-Water Nexus through Green Chemistry & Engineering". Consistent with this theme, the GRC will feature nine sessions encompassing chemocatalytic, biocatalytic and electrocatalytic approaches for sustainable conversion of emerging feedstocks to chemicals and fuels. The GRC will also feature a session on the use of quantitative metrics to guide the development of sustainable chemical processes and products. Emphasis will be placed on addressing grand challenges that will benefit the society at large. The young conference participants will benefit from state-of-the-art reviews and presentations by leading experts, by exchanging the latest advances on frontier research subjects relating to energy, environment and sustainability, and by debating controversial points with their peers. Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers will have an opportunity to participate in the Gordon Research Seminars that precede the GRC and provide young researchers valuable career-building and networking opportunities. The GRC will also provide an excellent opportunity for interaction and cooperation among academic and industrial scientists, a key for successful implementation of sustainable technologies in practice. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.