Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry
September, 2015
BCGC NEWSLETTER
Berkeley Center for Green
Chemistry
September, 2015
Helping to transform society's production and use of
chemicals and materials
In this issue:
The Written Word
2
Student Travel with a Mission:
Vietnam
2
Curricula Vitalized!
3
Opportunities
The University of California
Berkeley Center for Green
Chemistry is the nation's
first major academic
program to advance green
chemistry through
interdisciplinary scholarship.
BCGC pursues innovations
in education, research and
public engagement. We are
faculty, researchers, and
students in the Colleges of
Chemistry, Natural
Resources and Engineering,
and the Schools of Public
Health and Business.
4
Dialogue: Safer Chemicals for
Consumers and Workers
http://bcgc.berkeley.edu
Peidong Yang Wins the E.O. Lawrence Award!
BCGC Associate Peidong Yang, the S. K. and Angela
Chan Distinguished Professor of Energy and
Professor of Chemistry at UC Berkeley and
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory received the award
from U.S. Department of Energy secretary Ernest
Moniz on July 23. The award honors scientists for
research and development contributions in
support of DOE’s science, energy and national
security mission.Dr. Yang was honored for
“discoveries advancing synthesis and
understanding of nanoscale materials, and for
developing novel semiconductor nanowires and
metal nanocrystals impacting applications and
devices.”
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Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry
September, 2015
The Written Word
BCGC Associate Director Dr. Megan Schwarzman recently
reviewed author Ken Geiser’s new book, Chemicals Without
Harm, in the September 11, issue of Science magazine.
http://scim.ag/1LmtgW8
SAGE fellow Noah Kittner, together with his mentor, Dr. Dan
Kammen of the Energy and Resources Group, UC Berkeley,
recently had a letter to the editor published in the magazine
The Economist. They advocate for a balanced approach to
energy production in the Balkans based on more sustainable
practices.
BCGC Associate Director Dr. Heather Buckley was featured in
Fast Company. for her work developing alternate roofing
materials for the Indian market.
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3050271/a-cheap-modularsystem-will-provide-better-shelter-indians-with-shoddymetal-roofs
Berkeley SAGE Student travels to Vietnam
SAGE IGERT fellow Cecilia Han Springer visited
Vietnam in August to assess the technology and policy
drivers of aluminum production in Southeast Asia. She
conducted qualitative research of bauxite and alumina
producers and government officials. Her travel
research will support the broader goal of assessing
the life cycle of the Asian aluminum supply chain with
the intent of finding opportunities for more
sustainable practices.
Typical Asian Bauxite mine
2
Cecilia is guided by Energy and Resource Group
faculty, Dr. David Anthoff, and was hosted by Dr. Jason
Morris-Jung of the Institute for Southeast Asian
Studies, Singapore. Her travel was supported by the
international research and education fund of the NSF
funded Systems Approach to Green Energy (SAGE)
IGERT program of the Berkeley Center for Green
Chemistry.
Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry
September, 2015
Curricula Vitalized:
green chemistry education notes
3
Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry
Opportunities
September, 2015
Events
Safer Chemicals Advocacy Fellow
The Natural Resources Defense Council is now accepting
applications for a full-time, limited-term Safer Chemicals
Advocacy Fellow. The Policy Advocate will work with NRDC's
Health Program, a diverse team of lawyers, policy specialists
and scientists, to address public health threats from toxics in
our food supply, drinking water, and the environment. The
position will be located in Washington, DC or San Francisco.
For further information about NRDC, please visit www.nrdc.org
Frontiers in Green
Materials
December 7, 2015
Dow Sustainability Innovation Student Challenge
Award (SISCA)
Applications are now live for this award which is a UC Berkeley
award to encourage and promote sustainable solutions to the
world's most pressing social, economic, and environmental
challenges. The winning team receives $10,000.
London, UK
https://www.ice.org.uk/events/frontiersin-green-materials
GreenScreen® Program Manager:
Green Screen is looking for a technically and scientifically skilled
individual to fill the position of managing their GreenScreen for
Safer Chemicals program. Use of GreenScreen, which now sets
the gold standard for chemical hazard assessments, is growing
rapidly with its integration into building standards and the
electronics and apparel industries. If you are interested in
working with a dynamic organization on the leading edge of
advancing safer alternatives to toxic chemicals, please see the
full job description here.
BizNGO & Chemical
Footprint
th
10 Annual Meeting
Boston, Massachusetts
December 8, 9, 2015
http://www.bizngo.org/resources/entry/biz
ngo-chemical-footrpint-2015
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Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry
September, 2015
Opportunities, continued
California Department of Toxic Substances Control
(DTSC) is hiring!
https://www.dtsc.ca.gov/SCP/Career-Opportunities.cfm
For the next several months DTSC will have open
positions including a Senior Environmental Scientist
position and other openings for scientists and
economists.
Senior Chemist-MSI at Nike
http://jobs.nike.com/portland/manufacturing-﹠engineering/senior-chemist-material-science-innovation-jobs
The Material Science Innovation (MSI) department aims to
accelerate Nike's use of innovative, high performance, and more
sustainable products. This position will specifically focus on
better performance chemistries and those performance
chemistries and materials of that will ensure our continued
leadership in sustainability.
Dialogue: Safer Chemicals for Consumers and Workers
BCGC Associate Director Dr. Heather Buckley writes a compelling case for including worker safety in
any legislation controlling toxic chemicals in the latest digital issue of The Conversation.
https://theconversation.com/safer-chemicals-would-benefit-both-consumers-and-workers-47445
She reminds us of the danger of assumptions- about protection from harmful chemicals for both
consumers and workers. Drawing on her experience in Ahmedabad, India, making more benign
roofing tiles in far from benign factory conditions, she draws a parallel to first world consumers’ faith
in government consumer protection that often is not there. Progress in California consumer
protection, such as the California Department of Toxic Substance Control’s (DTSC) Safer Consumer
Product (SCP) regulations of 2013 is heartening, as it includes worker safety.
Dr. Buckley insists that we consider overseas workers in this calculus since the global market has put
products in our hands that are likely made half way round the world in unsafe conditions. Broadening
the definition of what should define “safe” is her point, and she makes it well.
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Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry
September, 2015
Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry
College of Chemistry
237A Hildebrand Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-1460
[Recipient]
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