ConfChem Conference on Educating the Next Generation: Green and Sustainable Chemistry—Teaching Green Chemistry: The Driving Force behind the Numbers!

Abstract

A special green chemistry course was offered at Grand Valley State University, GVSU, in 2006. Among other assignments, students designed an electronic survey probing the knowledge and the interest in learning about green chemistry. Over 1600 students responded. The responses to the questions “where did you hear about green chemistry” clearly showed the lack of green chemistry inclusion into the curricular program GVSU at that time. Under the driving force of the students’ interest and the imperative need to feel the gap between the traditional content of industrial processes teaching and the principles of green chemistry, we were compelled to change. The result is a new course, Green Chemistry and Industrial Processes, based on green industrial applications. It is a bridge between the principles of green chemistry and industrial processes currently in use, between traditional topics and real-life cases, provided by the global and the local economy. Partnership with local area businesses constitutes an ideal ground for challenging the students’ ability to analyze and understand the existing problems and to develop their critical thinking, while finding creative solutions. This communication summarizes one of the invited papers to the spring 2010 online ConfChem Conference on Educating the Next Generation: Green and Sustainable Chemistry, held from May 7 to June 30, 2010. ConfChem conferences are hosted by the ACS DivCHED Committee on Computers in Chemical Education (CCCE).