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ACS-GCI Director on the MDIIM Sustainable Innovation Workshop

Published: 23 October 2013

The past six weeks have been eventful. In early September there was the ACS National Meeting in Indianapolis and that was an enjoyable week.  Indianapolis turned out to be a great venue with lots of good programming and some very memorable events. I especially enjoyed the Kavli Foundation Emerging Leader in Chemistry Lecture by Dr. Marin Burke entitled “Making molecular prosthetics with a small molecule synthesizer,” and the address by Alan Alda. The Kavli lecture resonated with me because of the approach that the Burke team took to synthesis and the potential that approach has for opening up greater molecular diversity for chemists to exploit. The talk wasn't about green chemistry, but it wouldn't be a big stretch to make it one.
... Right after being in Indianapolis, I had the privilege of participating in a Sustainable Innovation Workshop at McGill University. Professor Steve Maguire has implemented a great workshop that pairs MBA students with chemistry graduate students to create a business plan for new product. The students are introduced to sustainable and green chemistry and some general business plan information on one day, and the next day they have a limited time to develop a strategy before pitching their plan before a panel of judges. This was an amazing event to see students rise to the occasion, develop some very creative ideas in a very short time, and walk away with a very different perspective about what is possible. I think this particular model should be replicated across many institutions.

Read full article: Chemistry for Life, October 16, 2013

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