Spring Maine ACS (MEACS) Spring Meeting @ University of New England – Thursday April 13th 2017

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Spring Maine ACS (MEACS) Spring Meeting @ University of New England – Thursday April 13th 2017

MEACS members are invited to attend a lecture by Dr. John Warner, titled “Green Chemistry: The Missing Element”. Dr. Warner is the President and Chief Technology Officer of the Warner Babcock Institute and is considered to be one of the “fathers of green chemistry”. The lecture will be held at 6:30 pm on the UNE Biddeford campus in the Harold Alfond Center for Health Sciences, Room 205; coffee and cookies will be available before the talk, and the UNE Chemistry Club (an ACS Student Chapter) will be demonstrating some green chemistry outreach activities.

Before the talk, MEACS members are invited to meet Dr. Warner and socialize at a gathering at the Run of the Mill Public House and Brewery in Saco from 4-6 pm.

Dr. Warner’s lecture is co-sponsored by the Maine Local Section of the American Chemical Society (MEACS), the UNE Department of Chemistry and Physics, and the UNE Department of Environmental Studies.

Important links:

UNE campus map with parking information: http://tinyurl.com/mxegmx5

Address for GPS: 11 Hills Beach Road, Biddeford, Maine, 04005

Run of the Mill Public House and Brewery: http://www.therunofthemill.net/

Address for GPS: 100 Main St., Saco, Maine, 04072 (parking is below the mill building by the river)

About John Warner: http://www.warnerbabcock.com/people/john-warner-ph-d/ 

Lecture abstract:

Green Chemistry:  The Missing Element 

Imagine a world where all segments of society demanded environmentally benign products! Imagine if all consumers, all retailers and all manufacturers insisted on buying and selling only non-toxic materials! The unfortunate reality is that, even if this situation were to occur, our knowledge of materials science and chemistry would allow us to provide only a small fraction of the products and materials that our economy is based upon. The way we learn and teach chemistry and materials science is for the most part void of any information regarding mechanisms of toxicity and environmental harm. Green Chemistry is a philosophy that seeks to reduce or eliminate the use of hazardous materials at the design stage of a materials process. It has been demonstrated that materials and products CAN be designed with negligible impact on human health and the environment while still being economically competitive and successful in the marketplace. This presentation will describe the history and background of Green Chemistry and discuss the opportunities for the next generation of materials designers to create a safer and more sustainable future.