National speakers attend GVSU Michigan Green Chemistry conference

ALLENDALE, Mich. — Green chemistry educators will share their experience at the Michigan Green Chemistry Education Networking meeting at Grand Valley State University.

The meeting is being held Friday, May 8, from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. in the Alumni House on Grand Valley’s Allendale Campus. Lab demonstrations will take place in Padnos Hall from 2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

Two nationally recognized pioneers in the field are among the guests at the conference — John C. Warner, director of the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry and Amy Cannon, co-founder and executive director of Beyond Benign. Cannon holds the world’s first doctorate in green chemistry from the University of Massachusetts.

The event is sponsored through a grant from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and high school educator participation is funded in part by the American Chemical Society. Registration and lunch are free. To register, visit [email protected].

For more information, contact Dalila Kovacs, assistant professor of chemistry at Grand Valley, at (616) 331-3806.

BACKGROUND

Amy Cannon
Cannon received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire and her master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Massachusetts-Boston. She worked as an analytical chemist for the Gillette Company and as a scientist for Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials. In 2007, she co-founded Beyond Benign, a nonprofit organization focused on green chemistry education through K-12 curriculum development and training, community outreach and workforce development.

John C. Warner
Warner received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Massachusetts-Boston and his master’s and doctoral degrees in organic chemistry from Princeton University. He worked at Polaroid Corporation from 1988-1997 in exploratory research and media research. He has published more than 100 patents, papers and books. His recent patents in the fields of semiconductor design, biodegradable plastics and personal care products are examples of how green chemistry principles can be incorporated into commercially relevant application.