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Published 28 June 2013 by Beatrice Lugger

Green Chemistry – a focal point in Lindau

Many participants of this year’s Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau show a specific interest in Green Chemistry. Sustainabilty and advancemtents for the future are on their list. As there are really many expressing this certain interest, I hope no one is angry with me, that I did not choose her or him. For example these  8 young researchers gave these statements during the application process. Their special interests range from greener industrial processes to the replacement of harmful materials.

Melanie Mastronardi
University of Toronto, Canada
Nationality: Canada

 

 

 

‘As a researcher, I have serious concerns about how chemical research affects the environment. While there have been significant advancements in incorporating the principles of green chemistry into many industries, resulting in the development of safer and more sustainable practices, such advancements seem to be progressing at a much slower rate in academia. I feel it is vitally important for the chemistry community to become more environmentally responsible, and along with trying to raise awareness about green chemistry practices, I strive to reflect this ideal in my own research.’

 

Kelvin Anggara
National University of Singapore, Singapore
Nationality: Indonesia

 

 

 

 

‘It was apparent, through the whole course of my education, that nature does not work in a chaotic way; It seems to follow certain set of understandable, albeit subtle and sometimes probabilistic, rules. This is the fact that lead us to the Age of Reason; It is also the reason why I am fascinated by nature and why it drives me to understand how it works. I have a conviction that a deeper understanding of nature will lead us to a better utilization of resources, increased societal welfare and thus, lead us to a more sustainable civilization.’

 

 

 

Mattia Riccardo Monaco
Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, Germany
Nationality: Italy

 

 

‘“Sustainability” is one of the key words which describe the biggest challenges that mankind has to tackle nowadays. Scientific research is probably the only possibility to overcome the lack of resources and the increasing pollution faced by our world: from this point of view science is our hope. Working in the development of new environmentally friendly processes makes me feel to contribute towards a greener and safer planet.’

 

 

 

 

Se Ryeon Lee
University of Michigan, United States
Nationality: United States

 

‘I have always been interested in making everyone’s lives better with what I can do best, chemistry. My current research focuses on making materials with the potential to be used in applications such as solar cells and PLEDs, replacing current materials that are more expensive and can be environmentally harmful. After graduate school, I hope to continue working in green chemistry with a focus on materials in an industrial workplace. Through this I believe that I can make the most significant impact in people’s lives, where research becomes real applications most directly and efficiently.’

 

 

Javier Bardagi
Universität Regensburg, Germany
Nationality: Argentina

 

 

‘I hope I would be able contribute to the development of the knowledge in the area of my research to the point that can reach a real application in life, for example by the future use of solar light in organic synthesis at industrial scale, allowing to prepare new compounds or going to total “greener” industrial procedures to access known compounds.’

 

Graham de Ruiter
Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
Nationality: Netherlands

 

 

‘To discover little by little how nature works and functions was a major driving force for entering the field of natural sciences. As a chemist today, we are at the verge of new and exciting times. The constant quest to solve new and upcoming problems associated with the ever-growing population and their demands requires from us, as scientist, creativity, understanding and global cooperation. The newly found insights, advancements and materials allow us and others to create a better and more sustainable world, in which we all can live together. That is my motivation for science.’

 

 

Eva Paciok
RWTH Aachen University, Germany
Nationality: Germany

 

‘With a rapidly growing world population, it is increasingly difficult to support our numbers. Therefore, the development of efficient & sustainable “green” processes and infrastructures becomes essential to the survival of nature and mankind. In chemistry, the advent of microfluidics has caused a paradigm shift by showing that efficiency & sustainability lie in scaling-down, not scaling-up. My work is aimed at revealing and understanding (sub-)microscopic processes to apply the lesson learned from microfluidics to other aspects of human life, and thus to pave the way into a greener tomorrow..’

 

 

Xiao Shen(2)
Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, China
Nationality: China

 

 

‘Science and technology are the primary productive forces. Chemical science has contributed much to the development of the society. However, there are so many unsolved chemistry problems, such as developing more efficient and greener chemical reactions to produce the materials needed by the society. So I chose chemistry as my career.’

 

 

 

 

 

As I studied Ecological Chemistry, I will certainly like to discuss this topic with these and more young researchers during the Meeting, which starts on Sunday! And I will try to listen to Nobel Lectures and panels covering this topic

  • Robert H. Grubbs: ‘Green Chemistry and Catalysis’
  • Panel Discussion: Green Chemistry
  • Science Breakfast: ‘How das Surface Science Contribute to Solve Global Energy and Environmental Issues?’
  • Science Breakfast: ‘How Can Science Drive Solutions That Better Use the Planet’s Resources?’
  • Science Breakfast: ‘It is All About Chemistry. How We Tackle the Energy Challenges of the Future’
  • Panel Discussion: ‘Chemical Energy Conversion & Storage’ – Ertl, Grubbs, Kohn, Michel, Schrock
  • Paul Crutzen: ‘Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate in the ‘Anthropocene’’(1)[hr]

Changes

(1) Sorry, but Paul Crutzen won’t make it to Lindau this year -the Lindau office just informed me. (June 28, 2013, 10:04)

(2) I added Xiao Shen, who was on my list already (June 28, 2013 15:16)

Beatrice Lugger

Beatrice Lugger is a science journalist and science social media specialist with a background as a chemist. She is Scientific Director of the National Institute for Science Communication, NaWik – nawik.de. @BLugger is her twitter handle, Quantensprung her own blog.