Amidst escalating global concerns over sustainability, the necessity of achieving a net-zero future has become increasingly apparent. Now more than ever, industries, with chemistry at the forefront, face mounting pressure to not only reduce their environmental footprint but also to optimize operational efficiency.
In this session, we will delve into an array of innovative approaches aimed at addressing these challenges head-on. From harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to drive sustainable process design to developing bio-based polymers, carbon capture, and base metal catalysis. Moreover, the session will shed light on the seamless integration of digital tools, machine learning, and AI-driven processes. These advancements are poised to revolutionize sustainability efforts across diverse sectors, spanning pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and household chemicals, and offer tangible pathways to a greener, more sustainable chemical industry.
Students and post-doctoral scholars are encouraged to attend the free GC&E AI Hackathon taking place on the day before the GC&E Conference starts.
The AI hackathon is a full-day immersive experience that serves as a replacement for our traditional student and postdoc workshop, offering an exciting opportunity to explore the intersection of artificial intelligence and sustainable practices. The AI Hackathon is designed to harness the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of toxicity. This one-day hackathon aims to bring together experts and enthusiasts on AI and green chemistry to develop predictive models for chemical toxicity using a comprehensive dataset. Traditional methods of toxicity testing are often time-consuming and expensive. AI offers a promising alternative, with the potential to revolutionize the way we approach chemical safety. Join us on this journey of predictive analytics for real-world sustainability challenges.
Learning Objectives
Understand the fundamental principles governing data quality assessment and the basics of AI algorithms for data analysis.
Demonstrate proficiency in molecular featurization techniques and the generation of descriptors for chemical compounds.
Develop skills in utilizing AI models to predict chemical toxicity based on molecular structures, including understanding the underlying processes and methodologies involved.
A $50 refundable deposit is required to reserve your spot in the workshop. Just make sure to select the workshop option when you register for the Conference. Participants who complete the workshop will receive a certificate of completion and their $50 registration fee will be refunded.
For the Tentative Agenda, check out the full AI Hackathon page.
This event will take place virtually on Friday, May 24, 2024.
Virtual attendees will have a chance to present posters in this GC&E Friday event. Posters in this session can be relevant to any green chemistry and engineering topic.
This session will take place virtually on a Friday before the Conference as part of our GC&E Fridays series.
Green chemistry education has the power to create lasting and systemic changes in our society. Laboratory experiments teach novice scientists the knowledge to design and develop more benign and cost-effective solutions to our environmental and societal challenges. In this context, the strategies and approaches for green chemistry incorporation into the education continuum are representative of the diversity of educators working in the field globally, including the importance of realizing the strength of facilitating intersectionality between EHS professionals and green chemistry practitioners.
This full-day workshop will take place Sunday, June 2nd.
There are many different approaches to ‘closing the loop’ of circularity in the field of polymer chemistry, whether that be focused on healable/recyclable products, biodegradability, renewable feedstocks or breaking down material to its constituent parts through depolymerization. This topic touches upon three conference tracks; The Circularity of Chemicals/Materials, Sustainable Product Design and Polymers. While there is excellent cutting edge research being performed in this area, there are also barriers to development outside academic publication. The principles of green chemistry could help us address, through collaboration, how best to overcome such barriers through sharing of experiences, ideas and holding discussions around metrics. Artificial intelligence (AI) has a great potential to aid life cycle analysis (LCA) and to establish a universal, interdisciplinary standard of open metrics and terminology. It is crucial that we start to open the conversation around this fast-growing field using workshops at events such as GCE conferences which have the prestige and the global reach to make meaningful progress.
Key considerations in the formation of feasible circular economies will include company and government policy, the availability of data for accurate modelling/metrics and engagement of users aside from scientific limitations. In this symposium, it is vital to share case studies of real-world circular economies or products to better understand the practical challenges and driving factors but also successes and inspirations from within the polymer market. Product scores can be recorded and searched by consumers in databases such as Environmental Working Group (https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/). Such scores, and the use of ecolabels and credits through organizations such as CarbonClick, allow more power in the hands of customers to demand more sustainable products. Such factors highlight the importance and need for common metrics within all industries, especially within the polymer industry who will play a part in other industries through packaging, product parts etc.
A significant part of this symposium would be a workshop around establishing universal green metrics and terminology. It would be of great interest to discuss how AI can aid us in this important aim and in keeping with the theme of the conference. Perhaps the greatest insight on this topic could be gleaned from those working within modelling and data collection. It is significant that this workshop includes a panel of diverse voices from as many aspects of the circular economy as possible such as academia, industry, suppliers, manufacturers, data analysts, policy makers. Something that can often be lacking within academic settings is external participation and voices, which can hinder efficient knowledge transfer outside of a university setting. Transfer of knowledge and established best practice is something which we hope to bring to our session through asking a range of speakers and/or panel members for the workshop element of the symposium. We hope that networking opportunities will naturally come from these discussions.
Organizers
Dr. Rebecca Randle, Trelleborg
Prof. Peter Licence, University of Nottingham
Dr. Adam Nevin, Trelleborg
Philip Brindle, Trelleborg
This workshop will consist of the following parts:
Part One: Green Chemistry and Systems Thinking for Gateway Courses and Beyond
1. Introduce workshop participants to the general format of the new ACSGCI teaching modules and describe at least one module in detail.
2. Guide participants through the planning process for including one or more modules in their general or organic chemistry course curricula.
3. Encourage feedback from participants concerning their anticipated impediments to implementation, module concepts that do/don’t fit well with their curricula, and positive/negative first impressions.
Part Two: Assessment of Impacts of Green Chemistry Curriculum
New ACS Guidelines for Bachelor’s Degree Programs advocate for integrating green chemistry into university chemistry courses. However, assessing students’ understanding of these principles remains challenging due to a lack of established tools. This workshop aims to assist green chemistry educators with assessing students’ cognitive and affective outcomes. This half-day workshop will start with an introduction to backward design. Participants will learn the three stages of backward design: i) identify desired results; ii) determine acceptable evidence; and iii) plan learning experiences.
The workshop will cover an introduction to measurement, research designs (pre-/post-test, treatment/control, multiple groups), measurement alignment with constructs of interest, data collection practices, data analysis, and reporting. The participants will be given templates for administering assessment instruments and examples of appropriate narratives to convey the assessment part of their curriculum innovations.
Organizers
Dr. David Laviska, American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute
Dr. Sarah Prescott, University of New Hampshire
Prof. Alexey Leontyev, North Dakota State University
Prof. Yujuan Liu, California State University Sacramento
The GC&E Poster Session is a central event of the annual conference. Posters are welcome on any topic of green chemistry and engineering. Eligible student presenters will be entered into our Poster Competition.
On behalf of the Editors of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s journals dedicated to Green and Sustainable Chemistry (namely Green Chemistry, RSC Sustainability, EES Catalysis, and RSC Mechanochemistry) we would like to propose a thought-provoking session geared towards discussing and addressing one of the key challenges at the forefront of sustainability science. That is, how do the innovative technologies developed in the lab translate into pragmatic solutions for a more sustainable and equitable world? As we transition to a net-zero economy how can we navigate this interim period where fossil technologies are still relied upon? How can we get to where we need to be and how can the chemical science community support and accelerate the transition in a solutions-focused way? We will invite speakers from a variety of different perspectives to present their research related to this topic and comment on this overarching challenge facing researchers interfacing with industry. In line with SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) we wish to highlight the nexus role that chemists and engineers play as partners in the successful implementation of new technologies and systems-thinking to advance the SDGs. GC&E conference is the ideal platform to deliver such a symposium owing to the motivated community of GC&E attendees and the significant influence and prestige of the conference.
Organizers
Emma Eley, Royal Society of Chemistry
Michael Rowan, Royal Society of Chemistry
This Symposia is proposed in coordination with the ACS GCI Pharma RoundTable Organic solvents are highly significant detrimental contributors to at least two key sustainability metrics, process mass intensity (PMI) and global warming potential (GWP). Development of reactions in water, with minimal organic solvents in the work-up, therefore represents a significant chance to lower the PMI and GWP of pharmaceutical synthetic processes. We welcome all submissions covering aqueous-based synthetic methodologies of relevance to pharmaceutical manufacture.
Catalysis has revolutionized modern synthetic methods by making them more versatile and efficient. These methods offer a wider range of substrates and better selectivity while providing a deeper understanding of the reaction mechanism and kinetics. However, these methods often lack sustainability due to the absence of green chemistry principles. In the last two decades, significant efforts have been made to integrate these principles into existing synthetic chemistry practices. To promote and advance green and sustainable chemistry, it is crucial to prioritize knowledge sharing, raise awareness, and create collaborative opportunities to train and prepare future generations. Academic- and industrial scientists often have different perspectives on sustainable synthetic methods than process chemists/engineers. Combining chemists/engineers from different backgrounds is imperative to exchange knowledge on sustainable organo- or organometallic catalysis.
The proposed symposium aims to achieve this by bringing together synthetic chemists and chemical engineers from academia and industry globally. We propose a dynamic and inclusive symposium. It will feature a wide range of early-career speakers who have made significant contributions within their first ten years of independent research. Our commitment to diversity is unwavering, as we aim to have 50% representation of females and chemists/engineers of color. Additionally, we intend to provide a global perspective by inviting speakers from diverse geographic locations spanning Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America. By embracing this comprehensive approach, we strive to create a platform that celebrates excellence and inclusivity in the field of sustainable catalysis. The symposium will cover a wide range of topics including data-driven synthesis, newer sustainable reaction pathways, next-generation catalysts, future solvents, mechanochemistry, biocatalysis, electrocatalysis (in organic synthesis), and photocatalysis.
The symposium aims to address sustainability challenges in different fields by showcasing the ongoing research and contributions of the speakers. The audience will gain valuable knowledge from these presentations, which will play a crucial role in educating and inspiring the future workforce, including scientists, students, and postdocs, about the transformative power of various technologies in modern synthesis.
Organizers
Dr. Matthew Joannou, Bristol Myers Squibb
Dr. Shubhangi Aggarwal, Bristol Myers Squibb
Dr. Tharique Nalakath, MilliporeSigma
Dr. Sachin Handa, University of Missouri
Sujana Shifon, Bristol Myers Squibb