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Driving Green Chemistry in Brazil with Beyond Benign: The Inspiring Journey of Cintia Milagre
Cintia Milagre’s story is one of passion, persistence, and vision—transforming her deep interest in green chemistry into supporting a movement that is reshaping education in Brazil. Empowered by Beyond Benign and the Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC), she has not only transformed her own institution but is also helping to build a network of educators across Brazil dedicated to sustainability in chemistry education.
Cintia’s journey began in the early 2000s during her master’s thesis on biocatalysis. Under the mentorship of Professors José Rodrigues and Anita Marsaioli—Cintia’s post-doc advisor and a major green chemistry influence—her research intersected with the groundbreaking work of Professor Roger Sheldon’s team at TU Delft, known for the E-factor metric. This experience laid the foundation for her interest in green chemistry.
Her green chemistry focus deepened when she joined Professor Isabel Arends’ Biocatalysis and Organic Chemistry (BOC) group, continuing collaborations with folks from TU Delft. By 2012, as an assistant professor at the Institute of Chemistry at UNESP, Cintia launched her independent research on biocatalysis and green chemistry—breaking new ground in her department, where green chemistry was limited to analytical chemistry.
A turning point came in 2019 when Cintia attended a workshop led by green chemistry pioneer and Beyond Benign Co-Founder John Warner. There, she was introduced to Beyond Benign’s Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC)—an initiative providing support and a proven framework for integrating green chemistry principles into education. Inspired by this program and its community-driven approach, she saw how the GCC could transform not only her institution but also create a ripple effect across Brazil.
Bringing the Green Chemistry Commitment to Brazil
Determined to lead the way, Cintia persuaded São Paulo State University – UNESP to become the first institution in Brazil to join the GCC, setting a powerful precedent. With Beyond Benign’s support and guidance, she leveraged the GCC program to bring systemic change to her university’s curriculum, promote the application of green chemistry principles and practices, and inspire colleagues to adopt similar approaches.
Her efforts didn’t stop there; Cintia inspired more institutions across the country to join the GCC. Today, the network comprises 14 Brazilian universities. This national movement was amplified by her connection to Beyond Benign’s global community, where she could share experiences, gather resources, and adapt strategies that resonated with the unique needs of Brazilian educators and students.
Cintia was invited to share her work with the community through open-access publications and also by speaking in webinars organized by Beyond Benign and its partners, such as the ‘E-waste Management in Brazil’ webinar, organized with the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and its Committee on Chemical Research Applied to World Needs (CHEMRAWN). During the last year, Cintia was able to amplify her international network by being a co-organizer of the Green Chemistry Connections, monthly virtual events organized by Beyond Benign to promote collaboration, resource-sharing, discussions and promote the development of a community of practice around green chemistry.
Empowered by these opportunities, Cintia has helped to support others, including the Latin American community, by becoming an organizer for the green chemistry category for the LatinXChem conference (LatinXChemGreen in partnership with Beyond Benign). Through her work as a GCC Ambassador, Cintia started advocating for the GCC program in Brazil, Latin America, and then globally.
Cintia’s advocacy has established her as a leading ambassador for green chemistry in Brazil. Beyond Benign’s resources and network provided support for her work, helping her institutionalize green chemistry principles and encouraging educators nationwide to rethink their approach to chemistry curricula.
Through the GCC, Cintia reimagined the curriculum at her institution, embedding green chemistry as a module in a mandatory first-year course. The community of GCC institutions offered insights and shared practices that allowed her to shape a program tailored to her students and faculty.
This institutional shift has had widespread ripple effects. Students are applying green chemistry principles in internships and careers, influencing discussions on sustainability in the chemical industry. Her former PhD and MSc students now teach green chemistry in higher education at the K-12 levels. Inspired by Cintia’s work, students at her institution have even organized a Sustainable Chemistry chapter to further promote these values.
Reflecting on the GCC’s impact, Cintia notes, “We can move faster because more people—professors, staff, technicians, employees, students—are involved and committed to making the chemistry developed and carried out in our institute greener.”
Building a Network for a Greener Future
Cintia’s work extends far beyond her institution. With Beyond Benign’s support, she has fostered collaborations among educators, researchers, and industry professionals, building a robust green chemistry network in Brazil. This connection to Beyond Benign’s international community has enriched her efforts, creating opportunities for shared resources, knowledge, and innovations.
Through this global network, Cintia has been able to amplify her impact, aligning Brazil’s green chemistry movement with broader international goals. Her work is a testament to how partnerships and community-driven programs and initiatives like the GCC can empower individual leaders to drive systemic change.
Cintia’s journey highlights the power of one individual working within a supportive global community to drive systemic change. By institutionalizing green chemistry principles, inspiring students and colleagues, and forging connections nationwide, she is paving the way for a greener future in education and industry alike.
Her story serves as a powerful reminder that green chemistry is not just an academic ideal—it is a practical, essential pathway toward a more sustainable world. Through her leadership, collaboration with Beyond Benign, and advocacy, Cintia continues to nurture the next generation of green chemistry leaders and innovators.
Cintia is one of hundreds of green chemistry leaders who Beyond Benign is proud to support and collaborate with worldwide. This work is made possible by the generosity of our community. Together, we can continue empowering educators and institutions to create a more sustainable future. Join us in this mission by making a donation today.

Driving Green Chemistry in Brazil with Beyond Benign: The Inspiring Journey of Cintia Milagre
November 20, 2024
Cintia Milagre’s story is one of passion, persistence, and vision—transforming her deep interest in green chemistry into supporting a movement that is reshaping education in Brazil. Empowered by Beyond Benign […]
Categories: GCTLC, Green Chemistry Education, Higher-Ed
New Green Chemistry Case Study Provides an Education Tool to Address PFAS and Hazardous Chemicals
Beyond Benign and the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) have collaborated to create a new educational resource exploring the chemistry and toxicology of hazardous chemicals, specifically focusing on PFAS as a fume suppressant. Using the metal plating industry as a case study, the module, titled “Exploring Sustainable Practices in Metal Plating: The Drive for Greener Innovations,” highlights how NYSP2I helped a metal plating company in New York utilize a greener alternative to a PFAS-based fume suppressant.
“This case study module highlights the need for constant innovation in materials and for training molecular designers to anticipate the toxicological impacts of chemicals produced and used as side products within production practices,” says Monica Soma Hensley, Higher Education Content Manager at Beyond Benign. “It spotlights the need for a greener viewpoint to the materials of the world.”
This resource, available in the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community, is ideal for use in introductory-level college chemistry courses. To celebrate the module’s release, Beyond Benign caught up with three community members who collaborated to bring it to life. The team included two professors from Green Chemistry Commitment-signing institutions in New York: Jihyun Kim, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Stella and Charles Guttman Community College, and Hun Bok Jung, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Kingsborough Community College. Additionally, Sarah Briggs, a research scientist and Program Manager of Emerging Contaminants and Green Chemistry at NYSP2I, provided information on the metal plating industry and outlined how NYSP2I worked with the local plating company featured in the case study to implement green chemistry technology.
Continue reading to learn more about the creation of this educational tool, which highlights the interplay of chemical, environmental health, regulatory, and business considerations in chemical processes and product design.
First, please tell us about yourselves and your connection to green chemistry.
Jihyun Kim: My experience with green chemistry began during the COVID-19 pandemic when we started planning to offer organic chemistry courses at Stella and Charles Guttman Community College. Unfortunately, limited funding and lab space prevented us from offering the organic chemistry lab. This challenge led me to explore how green chemistry principles could be incorporated into organic chemistry instruction. I focused on using non-toxic and eco-friendly chemicals, ensuring students could safely perform lab activities without compromising the environment or their health.
Hun Bok Jung: My background is in Environmental Geochemistry, and my research has focused on various environmental topics, including the pollution of surface water, groundwater, and soil by heavy metals, radionuclides, and nutrients, as well as geologic carbon sequestration and enhanced geothermal systems. Currently, I am an Assistant Professor at Kingsborough Community College, where I teach general chemistry courses. I have also taught various courses in environmental science and sustainability at my previous institution, New Jersey City University. I am interested in integrating green chemistry education into my general chemistry courses and have implemented some hands-on activities on green chemistry in my classes in recent semesters.
Sarah Briggs: I am the manager of the Green Chemistry and Emerging Contaminants program at the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I). Our program partners with Beyond Benign to support the development of a green chemistry educational community throughout New York State. Prior to working at NYSP2I, I worked in both K-12 education and academia, and I can speak to the importance of teaching green chemistry firsthand. Additionally, my work at NYSP2I has also exposed me to industry and policy perspectives as we work with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and local businesses to reduce pollution and implement the principles of green chemistry as widely as possible.
What was your experience like developing the case study? Why is this resource study valuable?
Jihyun Kim: My current research focuses on understanding the cause-and-effect relationship between PFAS exposure and mental health, so I am quite familiar with the broader issues surrounding PFAS. However, I had limited knowledge about its use in the metal plating industry. When Beyond Benign approached me to develop a case study on PFAS, I was excited about the opportunity to deepen my understanding of the topic and to share this knowledge with other educators. This project allowed me to expand my expertise and contribute to the growing conversation on PFAS and its environmental impact.
Hun Bok Jung: It was somewhat challenging but rewarding in the end. Although it took considerable time and effort to find and collect the references for this case study, I have learned a lot about the PFAS issues in the metal plating industry and greener alternatives while preparing the case study. I sincerely appreciate all the contributions from each of our team members, and it was a wonderful experience of collaboration. I believe that this case study will be a valuable educational resource for educators teaching general chemistry, organic chemistry, or environmental science courses because it illustrates how green chemistry principles can be integrated into industrial operations and help to develop and implement greener alternatives to harmful and hazardous processes and products, and thus contribute to a more sustainable industry. In general, there is a gap between classroom knowledge and real-world applications, but case studies like this one can fill the gap and help students be better prepared for their future careers.
Sarah Briggs: Ji and Hun Bok were absolutely amazing collaborators for this case study. They immediately jumped into the project and offered valuable perspectives on how best to present the information to students. This case study would not exist without their efforts. What makes this case study valuable is the way in which Ji and Hun Bok were able to translate a very niche topic, PFAS use in chrome metal plating, and make it accessible to students so they can learn about a real-life application of green chemistry.
Can you tell us about the key content and organization of this case study? How has your experience shaped its design?
Jihyun Kim: My primary focus in PFAS research has been on the health impacts of PFAS exposure. In addition to studying these effects, I am dedicated to incorporating green chemistry principles to develop safer, more sustainable alternatives to PFAS. This approach not only addresses health concerns but also promotes environmentally friendly solutions in place of harmful chemicals.
Hun Bok Jung: This case study consists of two main modules. While the first module covers the chemical properties and industrial applications of PFAS in the metal plating industry and their chemical, environmental, and health impacts, as well as various PFAS alternatives, the second module focuses on considerations for designing greener alternatives to PFAS-fume suppressants for the metal plating industry, integration of green chemistry principles in developing greener alternatives, and the implementation of a PFAS-free alternative by a New York State local metal plating company. While teaching science courses for more than a decade in higher education institutions, I realized that classroom learning is often disconnected from real-world applications. I hope that students can learn not only how to understand the problems and issues (e.g., harmful impacts of PFAS) but also how to design and implement practical and sustainable solutions (e.g., PFAS-free fume suppressants) through real-world examples in this case study.
Sarah Briggs: My main contributions to the case study were focused on the details of the direct assistance project between NYSP2I and the local plating company that switched from using a PFAS-based fume suppressant to a non-PFAS product. I also helped reach out to the manufacturer of the fume suppressants, Atotech, to get their perspective on the development of the non-PFAS product. Our work at NYSP2I is focused on helping to increase the sustainability of industries and municipalities across New York State, and bringing that perspective to the case study will hopefully motivate students to want to make contributions to sustainability in whatever field they choose to pursue.
How do you envision your fellow educators adapting and implementing this resource in their classrooms? What impact do you hope it will have on their teaching?
Jihyun Kim: I envision my fellow educators using this resource to deepen their understanding of PFAS and its impact on both human health and the environment, particularly within the context of green chemistry. By incorporating this case study into their classrooms, educators can engage students with real-world challenges and inspire critical thinking about sustainable practices in science. The resource provides an opportunity for teachers to integrate green chemistry principles into their curriculum, encouraging students to consider safer, eco-friendly alternatives to harmful chemicals like PFAS.
Hun Bok Jung: This case study can be implemented in various science courses, including general chemistry, organic chemistry, and environmental science courses. These case study modules are designed to take approximately three hours to complete, but instructors can adjust the length depending on their teaching schedule. I think this case study will increase students’ interest in green chemistry-related careers and provide an important opportunity to learn about the real-world applications of green chemistry principles. I hope this case study provides chemistry and science instructors with effective learning resources that can bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world applications.
What prompted the collaboration between NYSP2I and Beyond Benign to develop this case study? Why is this partnership important?
Sarah Briggs: We pursued this case study to highlight the interplay between companies, policy, and non-governmental organizations (like NYSP2I) in implementing green chemistry solutions. While green chemistry itself is a science, transitioning existing technologies to new, green technologies is a truly multidisciplinary effort that requires companies, regulators, and researchers to work together, and we felt this case study was a perfect example of that. Just like the partnerships we highlighted in the case study itself, the partnership between NYSP2I and Beyond Benign was invaluable because we created a sum greater than its parts by working together. NYSP2I may have been able to share its experience working with the company, but our organization does not have the educational expertise and resources to translate that work into a meaningful pedagogical tool for the green chemistry community. With the help of Beyond Benign and their partner educators, we were able to combine their teaching expertise and our practical experience to create a product that will convey the realities of implementing green technologies to students in a real, tangible way.
Get Involved
- To access this case study module and other educational resources, including The Olin Chemical Superfund Site Case Study and the ChemFORWARD Module, join the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community
- Learn how to adapt and implement this module in your courses! Attend a workshop on January 16th, 2025.
- Subscribe to Beyond Benign’s newsletter to receive green chemistry news, opportunities, and resources directly to your inbox.
- Are you a K-12 teacher in New York? Check out our resource GREEN CHEMISTRY AND SUSTAINABLE SCIENCE: A Green Approach to Sustainable STEM in K-12, which is aligned with New York State Standards and has lessons for all levels, from elementary to high school.

New Green Chemistry Case Study Provides an Education Tool to Address PFAS and Hazardous Chemicals
November 20, 2024
Beyond Benign and the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) have collaborated to create a new educational resource exploring the chemistry and toxicology of hazardous chemicals, specifically focusing on […]
Categories: GCTLC, Green Chemistry Education
Union College Leads the Way in Green Chemistry Education as a Green Chemistry Commitment Signer and an American Chemical Society-Approved Program
The next generation of scientists understands the importance of green and sustainable chemistry, and Union College is among the innovative higher education institutions integrating these principles into its students’ education. Union College, located in Schenectady, New York, is both an American Chemical Society (ACS)-approved program and a Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) signer, demonstrating its commitment to green chemistry education and its understanding that innovation cannot come without broader considerations for the environment and human health. With the resources and community of both the ACS and GCC, Union College is fostering a new generation of chemists who see the societal impacts of their work beyond the lab.
In the following conversation, Beyond Benign’s Higher Education Program Manager Juliana Vidal discusses green chemistry’s role in education with Union College Chemistry Professor and ACS President Mary Carroll and Union College Chemistry Department Chair and Associate Professor Laura MacManus-Spencer.
Juliana Vidal: Can you share a bit about your chemistry background and how it led to the work you’re doing today? When did you learn about green chemistry? How is green chemistry a part of the work you do?
Mary Carroll: I’m an analytical chemist by training and during my studies and early career, the work I was doing was related to measurements, such as sensing, instrument development and molecular spectroscopy. These areas of work have some environmental aspects to them, but it wasn’t always the driving force. I really learned more about green chemistry specifically, as opposed to environmental aspects of chemistry, when I was serving on the ACS Society Committee on Education (SOCED), because we would get reports from the Green Chemistry Institute during some of our meetings. For the past 22 years, I’ve had a collaborative research group in aerogel materials with Ann Anderson, a mechanical engineering faculty member at Union College. We invented a process for making certain aerogels that result in substantially less waste. Some of our applications are using aerogels for sustainable building applications, such as in windows. I actually have a startup company working in that space.
Laura MacManus-Spencer: I’ve been interested in the connections between chemistry and our environment since my undergraduate studies. Learning how a solid foundation in chemistry and chemical principles could lead to a better understanding of the world around me and humans’ interactions with it is what really got my attention. In my post-doctoral research, I worked on a project related to the principle of design for degradation. We studied per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that were so resistant to degradation and so extremely persistent in the environment. We investigated their chemical, physical, and biological properties with an eye toward the elements of their structures that might be modified to make them more degradable and benign in the environment. Now, as a faculty member at Union, I continue to do research with undergraduate students related to the applications of chemistry, specifically analytical chemistry, to environmental problems related to contaminants of emerging environmental concern. Our research is not focused on green chemistry, per se, but we do use the 12 Principles as guidelines.
Juliana: Mary, how do you see the changes in the field of chemistry over the years? What does an organization such as the ACS do to stay on top of these changes, such as the inclusion of green chemistry in the ACS Guidelines for Bachelor’s Degree Programs?
Mary: I’m relatively senior in my career, and there have been big changes in chemistry over that time. There’s been a lot more intentionality, in terms of focus on how we are designing things. Whether we’re talking about molecules, models or devices, you never know what the unintended consequences are going to be. There are many positives to innovation, but I think there’s more intentionality in thinking about what some of the unforeseen things could be. Compared to when I was a student of chemistry, we certainly have a much more robust safety culture, which relates to some of the principles of green chemistry. The ACS has the advantage of having people involved with expertise in many different areas. For example, we have the division of environmental chemistry and committees related to different principles. It’s clear that we have to evolve over time, and that we have to take advantage of the expertise within our community and within adjacent communities, to really stay ahead of everything and keep moving forward.
The Green Chemistry Institute (GCI) has been within ACS for more than 20 years now, and so the green chemistry principles have been certainly spread about by ACS. There are industry round tables and pharmaceutical and other industries that are very involved with the GCI. As a member of the ACS board, I’m really excited by the ACS campaign for a sustainable future, which is a relatively new program that has grants, awards, academic industry partnerships and sustainability summits. The ACS Guidelines for Bachelor’s Degree Programs, which include green chemistry, are looked at by the Committee on Professional Training (CPT) every few years. The fact that the guidelines evolve over time is one sign that ACS really is trying to stay on top of changes and make sure we’re incorporating green chemistry into education at the university and college level. I see it as a very positive sign that green chemistry is explicitly included in the most recent guidelines.
Juliana: Laura, what can faculty and departments do to stay on top of these changes in the field of chemistry and shift with the times?
Laura: The intentional inclusion of green chemistry principles in college curricula is being addressed, as it should be, reflecting the changes in perspective that have happened over time and will continue to happen in the future. The shifting connotation of the phrase “better living through chemistry” represents the changing role of chemistry in our society over the decades. It’s evolved from its initial optimistic connotation, associated with the creation of an ever-increasing number of new products that make our lives easier, more comfortable and more convenient. Uttering that same phrase now has a certain irony, referring to the environmental and toxicological issues that have accompanied the growth and innovation.
So what can faculty and departments do? We can keep learning, keep communicating, keep going to conferences and sharing ideas and practices. We can keep adapting our research to meet the changing pressures on the environment and on society. And a big one: listen to our students. Because they come up with amazing, wonderful, insightful new ideas that I think often are less hindered by the ingrained conceptions and sometimes prejudices some of us have from the way things have always been done.
Juliana: What motivated the Chemistry Department to sign the Green Chemistry Commitment?
Laura: In 2007, Union College signed on to the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, now called the Climate Leadership Commitments. That one step has had real change on our campus in the areas of sustainability and moving toward carbon neutrality. Our department’s goals in signing the GCC are: one, to acknowledge our current efforts to implement the green chemistry principles in our curriculum; two, to motivate us to do more; and three, to provide real accountability and a framework to do so.
Mary: I can just add that Laura, as an environmental analytical chemist and a new chair, is in a position to bring this to the deans and say it aligns with our institutional and departmental values. Frankly, we’re doing it anyway, but could we do it more intentionally?
Juliana: How will being part of the Green Chemistry Commitment help your department integrate the green chemistry and sustainability principles required by the new ACS Guidelines for Bachelor’s Degree Programs and stay at the forefront of the green chemistry movement?
Laura: I think signing the GCC will provide our department with really important tools and resources as we continue our efforts to at least meet the normal expectations and, ideally, the markers of excellence, in this area over time. I think the green chemistry learning modules, case studies, lab exercises and online forums, and being a part of the green chemistry community will make it easier to share ideas, best practices and lessons learned with other educators and students. There are ways to incorporate some or all of the green chemistry principles in really any subdiscipline in chemistry, and I think being a part of a community of people with the common goal of doing so will help us to think creatively about how to do that.
Mary: I’m going to come back to the word intentional again. There are things we’ve been doing, but having the commitment and the access to the community that Laura mentioned will have us talking more about it. We had a department discussion about the new guidelines, and around the room, there were people doing green chemistry in ways I wasn’t aware of. Being part of the GCC is helping us with our internal communication as well as communication with the broader chemistry community.
Juliana: What do you see as the most significant outcome of the Chemistry Department being both ACS-certified and a Green Chemistry Commitment signer?
Laura: The most significant product of our department is our students, so the most significant outcomes relate to them. Students graduating from college with an ACS-approved degree are really proud of their achievement. They know that it represents an intentionality on the part of the faculty to provide a program that meets and often exceeds the standards set by the American Chemical Society, which is the world’s largest scientific society. They also know that they’re part of this community, which offers everything from disseminating cutting-edge research, access to online tools, networking opportunities, funding outreach opportunities, and even personal benefits such as life insurance. Similarly, I hope that students graduating from Union will proudly acknowledge that their Alma Mater is a signatory of the GCC and will carry that with them and take with them a mindset of studying and practicing chemistry in the context of society’s great challenges. We’re thinking about that a lot on our campus right now, with environmental sustainability being just one of those great challenges.
Mary: As part of our general education program, students have to take courses in a couple of different fields that touch on global challenges. I think today’s college students are keenly aware of some of the major challenges existing globally. They’re very interested in being involved in work and projects that are meaningful and not doing harm. We’re also very proud to have an ACS-approved program. We are a completely undergraduate institution and have a very lab-intensive program. We want to think about how we do things in the lab and the best ways to do lab work. We’re training them to go out into their careers, which for many of them are going to be related very directly to chemistry or biochemistry. To the extent that we can have them thinking about these issues now, that’s going to really pay off in the future.
Juliana: Have you seen green chemistry inspire students at Union College?
Laura: Certainly I’ve seen the aspects of green chemistry and sustainability in the sciences inspire many students at Union College. From more traditional green chemistry aspects, such as working with synthetic organic chemists to find ways to run their reactions more environmentally friendly, to using smaller volumes of things. Whether working in the lab or with faculty outside the chemistry department, such as in engineering departments, they’re inspired to see the research they do can lead to more efficient and less environmentally harmful ways of doing things. For example, one student working in the aerogel lab was a double major in chemistry and environmental science. Though she did not have to, she wanted to tie everything together in her senior theses. She did a really interesting life cycle analysis of the use of aerogel materials for insulation in clothing, as opposed to, say, recycled polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, bottles. I could see the spark because she really could see the applications of what she was learning at Union College and how she might take that into the future.
Mary: I think educators as a whole within chemistry haven’t historically been focused on a systems-thinking approach. When you deal with things in very discrete segments, you sometimes don’t get the whole picture. A life cycle analysis by its nature can be hard to define and interpret, but just by going through the exercise, you’re thinking about the whole process. That process thinking, which I think is pretty common in engineering education, is something that green chemistry is helping bring more into chemistry education.
Juliana: What is your hope for the future of green chemistry education at Union College and beyond?
Mary: I think to continue to prepare students to be thoughtful contributors to the overall scientific enterprise. I think that’s what we hope to do as educators is to teach people how to learn. A real strength of the green chemistry principles and community is this systems-thinking and the sharing of resources. But what we really want to do is prepare students, and we want to prepare them not just for the first thing they do, but to prepare them to be lifelong learners and lifelong contributors in a very positive way.
Laura: I would like to see green chemistry and sustainability initiatives get to the point of being so ingrained in our curriculum that it’s just not questioned anymore. We expect someone graduating with a degree in chemistry to know what a Diels–Alder reaction is. We expect them to know what chromatography is. We expect them to know something about proteins and their interaction with small molecules in the body. I would add green chemistry in there, that we just expect students to keep these green chemistry principles in mind at every single one of those steps and every course they take — and then take that beyond Union College’s walls. I also always tell students I want them to see chemistry all around them. My personal area of interest is personal care products, and I want them to walk into a Target and not just grab the first product off the shelf, but actually take a look and see what’s in it. Everything around us is chemicals. I want them to make informed decisions, both with their dollars at the store, but also with any future research they do. I want green chemistry to be an unquestioned part of our curriculum, and for students to continue to learn to see chemistry in a way that benefits society. That comes back to that phrase, “better living through chemistry,” and what that means to the next generation.
How to get involved:
- National Chemistry Week (#ACS_NCW) is celebrated this year during the week of October 20-26, with the theme “Picture Perfect Chemistry.” Check out what the American Chemical Society and the Green Chemistry Institute have planned and how you can get involved.
- Interested in learning more about the GCC? Book a time with Juliana Vidal to talk about bringing the GCC to your institution.

Union College Leads the Way in Green Chemistry Education as a Green Chemistry Commitment Signer and an American Chemical Society-Approved Program
October 18, 2024
The next generation of scientists understands the importance of green and sustainable chemistry, and Union College is among the innovative higher education institutions integrating these principles into its students’ education. […]
Categories: Green Chemistry Education, Higher-Ed
GCTLC User Spotlight: Jerald Villarmino
Meet Jerald Villarmino, a pharmaceutical chemist, food chemist, former university instructor, and advocate who promotes green chemistry principles in the Philippines. Jerald is the founder of Green Chemistry Philippines, an organization dedicated to promoting and raising awareness about chemical sustainability through the practice of green chemistry principles. Through his work and advocacy, Jerald’s overarching goal is to explore and champion sustainable solutions using green chemistry that bridge the gap between technological advancement and environmental conservation.
Jerald is an active GCTLC user and has made many contributions to the GCTLC as a Forum Moderator and Learning Object Peer Reviewer. Below, Jerald shares how the GCTLC has supported his work and how he’s seen the platform foster collaboration and connection.
Why did you become involved in the GCTLC?
My involvement with the GCTLC began through Beyond Benign. When they launched the GCTLC in October 2023, it became an ideal platform to support my efforts in enhancing academic instruction in chemistry. The platform’s resources and virtual events have proven invaluable to my work, particularly in the context of the chemistry curriculum redesign I am undertaking. Additionally, serving as a Forum Moderator has allowed me to contribute to fostering productive discussions in the green chemistry community.
How has the GCTLC supported your green chemistry journey?
I have been a dedicated advocate for green chemistry for several years, promoting its principles through various in-person and virtual initiatives in the Philippines. The GCTLC has been instrumental in expanding the reach of my advocacy by providing a platform to engage with a broader audience. The extensive learning resources and training available have significantly enriched my professional development as a green chemistry advocate and have had a profound impact on my career trajectory and personal growth as a chemist.
How have you seen the GCTLC foster collaboration and connection?
The GCTLC actively promotes inclusivity and diversity in green chemistry education by uplifting a range of seminars and events that facilitate collaboration among educators and professionals. Through this platform, I have developed valuable connections with distinguished experts from around the world, which I believe will be pivotal for future research collaborations. The GCTLC has also provided unique opportunities for academic engagement, allowing me to seek guidance from renowned figures in the field, such as Dr. John Warner, Dr. Amy Cannon, and Dr. Colleen Kelley.
Why did you encourage your students to create GCTLC profiles?
I strongly encourage my students to create GCTLC profiles because it offers unparalleled resources for those interested in green chemistry. As a former instructor, I have found the platform to be an invaluable tool for sourcing instructional and laboratory materials. Students benefit from access to a diverse range of academic journals and learning resources, which deepen their knowledge of green chemistry principles. Furthermore, the platform enables users to engage in meaningful discussions with community members, fostering a collaborative environment that supports learning and professional development.
How to get involved:
- Create your free GCTLC profile to connect with your peers in the green chemistry community.
- Connect with Jerald to keep up with his work.

GCTLC User Spotlight: Jerald Villarmino
October 10, 2024
Meet Jerald Villarmino, a pharmaceutical chemist, food chemist, former university instructor, and advocate who promotes green chemistry principles in the Philippines. Jerald is the founder of Green Chemistry Philippines, an […]
Categories: GCTLC, Green Chemistry Education
Meet The Beyond Benign Team: A Q&A with Dr. Jonathon Moir
Meet Dr. Jonathon Moir, Senior Program Manager of the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC) at Beyond Benign. With a passion for chemistry education and advancing sustainability, Jonathon has been a champion of green chemistry throughout his career. From helping to found the Green Chemistry Initiative at the University of Toronto to guiding the development of the GCTLC, Jonathon’s journey is all about driving collaboration and innovation in the field.
As he leads the charge in shaping the GCTLC, Jonathon is excited to see the platform grow into a dynamic hub for educators, students, and industry leaders to unite, share resources, and push green chemistry education to new heights. Beyond Benign recently caught up with Jonathon to learn about his career journey, his vision for the GCTLC, and how this dynamic platform fosters green chemistry resource sharing and collaboration. Dive into the conversation below!
First, we’d love to hear about your career journey and the passions that have driven you! How did your professional path lead you to your current role with Beyond Benign, specifically working on the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC)?
In graduate school during my Ph.D. program, I was fortunate to have some phenomenal colleagues in the same research group. In 2012, while in the office, two of my colleagues began talking about green chemistry and how great it would be to bring more of it into our chemistry department. Many of us agreed and felt that a student group could be a great way to start getting people on board. We got together for our first meeting with a few other friends and students from other research groups, began considering ideas for initiatives we could do, established a group constitution, and shortly after became an officially recognized group on campus: the University of Toronto Green Chemistry Initiative. It’s amazing to see the group is still going strong 12 years later, and I still get together once in a while with many of the original group members.
That was my first introduction to green chemistry. After I graduated, I moved into the nonprofit sector and took on a few different roles. I had several opportunities to return to research and debated myself regularly as to whether that was something I wanted to do, but the COVID-19 pandemic threw everything into a tailspin. Ultimately, I took a moment to reflect on what I cared about, and two things immediately came to mind: education and sustainability. From that, I remembered Beyond Benign and Dr. Amy Cannon‘s presentation at the University of Toronto years before. So I reached out to Dr. Natalie O’Neil, who was leading the Higher Education program at Beyond Benign, and asked if there was anything I could help volunteer with. After a few months, a position opened up to support the development and launch of the GCTLC, and I was thrilled to be able to apply!
What features or opportunities within the GCTLC platform are you particularly thrilled about, and how do you envision it empowering educators, students, and sustainability advocates?
What’s amazing about the GCTLC is the community-driven approach and passion for bringing people and information together into one place, which makes the platform so powerful. The teachers, faculty, students, and industry champions tell us what they want to see and submit their content, questions, and comments directly to the site. In that way, users answer questions from other users, comment on other community members’ resources, and add their original work and great resources they’ve found to the GCTLC’s library. They share about upcoming events and important developments, so the platform is a living space that’s constantly evolving and changing. New pages with additional resources and links are regularly added based on community feedback. In particular, the GCTLC’s library lets users update their resources after they’ve been published, allowing them to go through additional peer review to help prevent information stagnation. This was the original hope for the platform, and it’s great to see it happening in real time. While the platform is still in its infancy, we’re incredibly excited to see this evolving and dynamic platform taking shape, molded by the very users that make up its membership.
You invested considerable effort in guiding the GCTLC Leadership Committee (now the Advisory Committee) to establish the platform’s core values at the outset. Could you share the importance of this step and how it shapes the GCTLC’s development and impact?
One of the first things we did with the Leadership Committee was develop the platform’s mission, vision, and core values in early 2021. This was a critical step at the outset as it helped us to articulate what type of community space we wanted to build, with feedback from the committee members as representatives of the wider community (representing teachers in K-12 and Higher Education, information management experts, education policy experts, and industry champions). Doing this before we had even chosen a developer allowed us to focus on how our committee would work with the development team and with us to build the platform, design the peer review process, facilitate conversation, choose specific design elements, manage community-contributed content, and data, create the layout for the homepage, and so much more. We have strived at every stage to uphold the core values in every aspect of the GCTLC, from the content we include and site accessibility to the functionality we add over time. We continue to hold those values as the core spirit of everything we do.
What features make the GCTLC platform a unique space for the green chemistry community? How does it elevate the accessibility and collaborative potential of green chemistry education materials?
Until now, there hasn’t been one central online place for green chemistry education content, resources, collaboration, and conversation. Some previous projects, including the Greener Educational Materials (GEMs) database, hosted through the University of Oregon, had aimed to fill this gap and provided a fantastic first virtual database for resource access and sharing during its lifetime (it was unfortunately shut down in the mid-2010s). However, given the many advances in technology and web development since then and the need to bring together many different functional aspects into a single site to meet community needs, the GCTLC provides a unique, next-level space for teachers and educators worldwide. In particular, the GCTLC’s foundation is built on two open-source, modular software platforms that allow for a wide range of additional functionalities and “power-ups” to be bolted onto the core system, allowing it to quickly adapt to changing community needs and expand on what it can do functionally. In that way, we can further enhance user collaboration and accelerate information access. One example is the broad interest in implementing a tagging feature where users can tag other users in comments to be notified when something might interest them. Another is our groups functionality launching soon, which we also hope will help facilitate collaboration and conversation.
We know group collaboration spaces are coming soon on the platform. Can you give us a sneak peek? What will this enable the community to do, and what should the community be looking forward to with this project? What are you excited about?
The groups functionality will allow users to join spaces on the GCTLC dedicated to specific topics or themes of interest with other users who share the same interests. Like Facebook groups, users can create new groups and invite other users to join them or join existing groups by searching through the groups listings. When creating new groups, users can customize the access and visibility settings (including setting up public or private groups), with up to six different group types to choose from. Once a user has joined a group, they can see other members, post questions, start new discussions, create collaborative project threads, and share files or links of interest.
We’ve heard from many of our community members that the group functionality is much needed. We have close to 15 groups waiting to get started with their own dedicated spaces on the GCTLC. The group functionality will help fill a long-standing gap in the green chemistry education community and further connect our community members from around the world.
How to get involved:
- Join the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC) to connect with your peers in a collaborative environment focused on green chemistry education.
- Connect with Jonathon in the GCTLC to keep up with his work!
- Explore the GCTLC Trailblazer Guide to make the most of your experience on the platform. This guide offers tips for optimizing your profile, finding community members, locating helpful resources, uploading new content, participating in discussion forums, creating events, and submitting job postings.

Meet The Beyond Benign Team: A Q&A with Dr. Jonathon Moir
October 3, 2024
Meet Dr. Jonathon Moir, Senior Program Manager of the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC) at Beyond Benign. With a passion for chemistry education and advancing sustainability, Jonathon has […]
Categories: Green Chemistry Education, Spotlight
New Green Chemistry Case Study Provides an Education Tool to Address Toxic Waste Legacy and Transform Industry Practices
A new case study on a contaminated Massachusetts site provides actionable information and customizable resources for chemistry educators and serves as a springboard for broader adoption of green chemistry practices in the industry. Beyond Benign and MIT Superfund Research Program (MIT SRP) worked together to develop a case study based on the Olin Chemical Superfund Site, one of more than 1,300 federally designated toxic waste sites across the United States.
The case study is designed for use in introductory-level college chemistry courses, especially those in the network of academic partners that Beyond Benign has built through the Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) program. The GCC program includes more than 190 academic institutions around the world that are committed to transforming the teaching and practice of chemistry at their institutions.
GCC participating institutions commit to four student learning objectives, one of which is finding ways to bring toxicology into their teaching to strengthen chemists’ design skills and broaden their understanding of how to design chemical products with reduced hazards and impacts — an essential component of green chemistry.
“By understanding the history of the chemical industry and the impacts on hazardous chemicals within communities, it can provide us a better perspective to understand the necessity of the industry to shift towards greener, more sustainable chemistry,” says Amy Cannon, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Beyond Benign.
The Olin Chemical Superfund Site case study module introduces students to the U.S. EPA’s Superfund Program, allowing them to better understand the history of the chemical industry. In addition, the resource delves into the toxicology associated with the chemicals released into the environment and helps students learn about green chemistry and related innovations that eliminate the use of certain types of chemicals.
“This module is a wonderful opportunity to understand the historical impacts of the chemical industry, what it takes to clean up past mistakes, and also the importance of approaching chemistry through a green and sustainable lens,” says Monica Soma Hensley, Higher Education Content Manager at Beyond Benign.
The action-oriented case study provides guidance so educators can create resources based on Superfund sites in their regions, providing additional relevance for students and connecting them with their local communities.
The case study, “The Olin Chemical Superfund Site,” complements and expands on Toxicology for Chemists, a first-of-its-kind, open-access curriculum that Beyond Benign launched in August 2022 with the support of faculty members from GCC signing institutions, industry, nonprofits, and governmental toxicology experts.
A small team of Beyond Benign staff and faculty partners worked with MIT SRP staff member Kathleen Vandiver and trainees Weixi Kang, Barathkumar Baskaran, and Haosheng Feng to develop the case study, which was funded by a grant from MIT SRP. Beyond Benign faculty partners — Doug Raynie, Professor Emeritus at South Dakota State University (an inaugural GCC signatory), and Nesta Bortey-Sam, Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh — served as educational content developers for the project. This collaboration between educators and Beyond Benign deepens knowledge and awareness of green chemistry practices and provides learning opportunities for the GCC community.
Educators from GCC-signing institutions can learn more about the Superfund site case study during a workshop from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET Oct. 11. Register now.
Case Study Offers Real-World Tool for Chemistry Educators
Raynie says the case study elevates the concept of Superfund from a historical government reaction to environmental issues to a living, in-progress solution to a toxic waste situation impacting a real community. It’s an educational tool as well as a broader call to action for the chemical industry, he says. “In developing this case study, I gained a renewed appreciation for the role of a host of stakeholders in creating awareness and developing solutions for the common good,” he says.
Each team member contributed knowledge and perspective to the case study development. Raynie pulled from his decade of teaching toxicology to chemistry and biochemistry majors and his interest in green chemistry, while Bortey-Sam tapped into his expertise in environmental toxicology. “In developing our case study outline, we addressed items missing from many chemical toxicology courses and offered content to reinforce other toxicology topics,” Raynie says.
While the case study focuses on the Olin Superfund Site, its design aims to provide educators with a real-world application of toxicology topics and lower the barrier to introducing green chemistry and toxicology in the chemistry curriculum.
Raynie says the case study’s four-module structure provides flexibility for educators. “With this approach, the case study can be used as a capstone in a chemical toxicology course or to illustrate selected content in any number of stand-alone chemistry courses,” he says. “The case study could even be used in a special topics course to demonstrate the interaction of science and society.”
MIT SRP Advances Green Chemistry Innovations and Collaboration to Protect Public Health
The MIT SRP was created in response to a childhood cancer cluster near the Olin Superfund Site in Wilmington, Massachusetts. MIT SRP Director Bevin Engelward says the cancer cluster is thought to have been caused by exposure to chemical waste that leached into drinking water from a chemical production plant.
Engelward said the MIT SRP brings together scientists and engineers to:
- help to assess the health effects of contaminants,
- create methods to predict the consequences of exposures,
- make sensors for contaminants, and
- create technology to remove contaminants from drinking water.
Through her team’s work at MIT SRP, Engelward has seen the importance and promise of green chemistry. “One of the important things that the MIT team does is to find ways to learn from the past so that we can prevent problems such as that of the Olin Chemical Superfund Site,” she says. “It’s best to take care at the time of chemical production to avoid the creation of dangerous chemical waste. Doing so will help to ensure that people will never again suffer from the health consequences of chemicals in our environment.”
The collaboration between MIT SRP and Beyond Beyond is an important partnership for several reasons, Engelward says. “We realized right away that we think alike and have a shared mission, which is to protect human health from the effects of hazardous chemicals,” she says. “We were very happy that the Beyond Benign team was willing to develop a case study based on the contamination problem in Wilmington, because it is a way for us to contribute to education that will help to prevent dangerous exposures in the future.”
Engelward says MIT SRP trainees are developing new technologies and performing health assessment studies that reinforce the importance of green chemistry. Examples of their work include creating a sensor that can detect the contaminant N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in water via a colorimetric assay and creating new devices for destroying NDMA in drinking water.
Through workshops, visits from public health officials, and other enrichment activities, MIT SRP trainees build awareness about environmental health. “All students learn about the Olin Superfund Site and the tragedy that can unfold when chemical waste is carelessly dumped into sandy pits adjacent to the chemical plant,” Engelward says. “Since research areas stretch from biology, to chemistry, to civil and environmental engineering, students learn how cross-disciplinary collaboration is critical for addressing the complexities of environmental contamination and the ways that we address those problems.”
How to get involved:
- If you are an educator from a Green Chemistry Commitment-signing institution, join a workshop on Oct. 11 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT to learn more about the Superfund case study and how to effectively implement it in your course.
- Subscribe to Beyond Benign’s newsletter to get green chemistry news, resources, and inspiration delivered to your inbox monthly.
- Connect with Doug Raynie and Nesta Bortey-Sam in the GCTLC platform to keep up with their work.

New Green Chemistry Case Study Provides an Education Tool to Address Toxic Waste Legacy and Transform Industry Practices
September 24, 2024
A new case study on a contaminated Massachusetts site provides actionable information and customizable resources for chemistry educators and serves as a springboard for broader adoption of green chemistry practices […]
Categories: Green Chemistry Education
K-12 Summer Course Student Testimonials
“The materials presented and shared in Intro to Green Chemistry will absolutely encourage students to be greener and lead more sustainable lives… If we think about the process to limit or refrain from using materials at the high school level perhaps the next decade will show environmental improvement.”
As a solutions-based science, green chemistry has proven to be impactful for K-12 student learning. From the high school chemistry lab to elementary science classes, students of green chemistry are asked a common question: How can we engage science through a sustainable lens? Of course, for students to tackle this challenge, instructors must first have an answer themselves – . This is where we come in.
However, green chemistry is not yet often embedded in most teaching curricula which presents a real barrier for educators seeking to integrate sustainability into their classroom. Overcoming this challenge is a core focus of our professional development courses.
Each summer, K-12 educators from across the United States gather in virtual classrooms to learn, share, and grow together at Beyond Benign online professional development courses. Their instructors are other K-12 teachers—who have years of experience partnering with Beyond Benign to teach ways to green the chemistry classroom and catalyze student engagement with sustainability topics
When our Summer 2024 cohort wrapped up their courses and submitted their final projects, we asked them to tell us about their experience. We hope the reflections below inspire you as much as they have inspired us.
Sustainable Science: Contextualizing Chemistry through Safer Hands-On Labs:
Problem-solving with chemistry to create safe and engaging NGSS-aligned chemistry labs, designing solutions for sustainability challenges.
“I learned the basics about green chemistry in Sustainable Science: Contextualizing Chemistry through Safer Hands-On Labs, and this short course was invaluable in opening my eyes to this important area of science. As a high school science teacher, my interest was to learn to revise chemistry labs to make them safer, from set up to disposal. But along with that, I realized I need — and my students need — to know more about this sustainable approach to chemical processes and products, so I’m hoping to read more and take another green chemistry course to further my and my students’ understanding.”
Introduction to Green Chemistry:
Integrating green chemistry principles and practices into your teaching through real-world sustainable inventions.
“I want to incorporate more green chemistry innovations and research because I find it interesting and I think the students do too. I think the materials I learned in Intro to Green Chemistry will improve student understanding of how to critically think about environmental impact and waste production, which are two things they may not think about regularly. With this awareness, they can make better informed decisions and could be inspired to bring these ideals to future science courses and careers.”
“I plan to share green chemistry with the chemistry teacher in my new school, and the science lead in the superintendent’s office. The materials presented and shared in Intro to Green Chemistry will absolutely encourage students to be greener and lead more sustainable lives. It is a method to teach about waste, usage of harmful materials, and production of harmful materials. If we think about the process to limit or refrain from using materials at the high school level perhaps the next decade will show environmental improvement.”
Advanced Green Chemistry:
Taking green chemistry practice to the next level in your classroom through toxicology and analysis to support student based research and inquiry projects.
“In Advanced Green Chemistry, I learned how to plan a unit with the 12 Green Chemistry Principles in mind and how to use the principles to guide lessons that are interesting to my students. I was able to use what I learned in this course to rewrite my unit on solutions chemistry using a case study and weaving the concepts of toxicology throughout. I will be presenting my new unit in the spring of this upcoming school year.”
“In Advanced Green Chemistry, one of the most significant things I learned was about the Green Chemistry Awards Study, Toxicology unit, Specific Green Chemistry Labs. I will implement it in my classroom by utilizing green chemistry labs in class, explicitly incorporating the 12 Green Chemistry Principles.”
“After taking the Advanced Green Chemistry course, I have better alternative labs to use, including the ones that we developed. We will now use the common language of the 12 Green Chemistry Principles with the students, and I will be reducing hazards in the classroom, incorporating SDS and hazard pictograms. I love the community we formed in this class and hope to continue to engage. The size of this class was great. Even though the course was online, the size made it feel very personal.”
“I learned much more about toxicology and current innovations in green chemistry. As a result, I rewrote an entire unit (solutions) in my curriculum and modified my intro unit. This will help increase student understanding of their ability to solve sustainability challenges with chemistry a great deal! We are definitely going to implement more changes with an environmental lens and we are attempting to not buy any NEW toxic chemicals as we work through the materials in our stockroom and convert all labs to more environmentally safe options.”
How to get involved:
- Subscribe to Beyond Benign’s newsletter to be the first to know about future professional development courses and learning opportunities.
- Join the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community to connect with your peers, access resources, and more.
- Want to bring in some green chemistry labs into your K-12 classrooms? Check out our “starter kit” here to see where to start.

K-12 Summer Course Student Testimonials
September 20, 2024
“The materials presented and shared in Intro to Green Chemistry will absolutely encourage students to be greener and lead more sustainable lives… If we think about the process to limit […]
Categories: K-12
Get to Know our GCTLC Forum Moderators!
With the GCTLC’s one-year birthday coming up, we wanted to take the time to uplift the folks putting the second “C” in the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC) – our Forum Moderators! This team of five green chemistry superheroes oversees the conversations and collaborations happening in our forum spaces (side note – did you know we have 12 different forum topics for you to explore?). Aside from making sure the GCTLC forums are spam-free, our moderators are actively answering your questions, uplifting your news, and contributing to our community’s bubbling conversations.
The forum moderators help to support and moderate conversations within the GCTLC’s forums, share insights and best practices, and monitor for posts or content that may be contrary to the GCTLC’s Code of Conduct (such as spam), helping to keep the GCTLC’s discussion spaces safe. You can read more about the responsibilities of moderators by referring to the Guidelines and Training for Moderators.
Want to learn more about them? Check out their bios, active threads, and resource uploads below!
Conrad Jones, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Expertise: Green Chemistry, Minority Serving Institutions, Catalysis, NMR
Conrad Jones is an associate professor of chemistry at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His areas of interests/research are green chemistry, environmental chemistry, physical chemistry, catalysis/kinetics, NMR spectroscopy, EPR spectroscopy, alternative/renewable energy, biofuels, green energetic materials, and green synthesis of pharmaceuticals.
Conrad’s most active forum: “Need Help with Green Synthesis of Pharmaceuticals”
Expertise: Library, Pollution Prevention, Sustainability, Safer Consumer Products
Laura Barnes is a degreed librarian with extensive experience in providing information services to and curating information for pollution prevention technical assistance engineers and environmental scientists. From 2012-2019, she served as Executive Director of the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable, a U.S. EPA-funded pollution prevention information center, where she developed information products for and facilitated networking and information sharing among pollution prevention technical assistance providers in the Great Lakes states. She also advised other centers in EPA’s P2Rx National Network on new ways to organize, gather, and share information. She founded and authored the Environmental News Bits blog, has taught workshops on sustainability planning for businesses and organizations, and has published on the topic of sustainability in libraries. She holds a B.A. in History and M.S. in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Check out this forum discussion with Laura: Ethics in Green Chemistry
Featured Resource Upload:
Sajith Jayasinghe, Faculty at California State San Marcos
Expertise: Biophysical Chemistry, Biochemistry, Proteins
Sajith Jayasinghe has been a faculty member at California State University, San Marcos since 2005. He teaches chemistry for nursing students (CHEM 105), Biochemistry for majors (CHEM 351, 352), and Protein Structure and Function (CHEM 450). His research involves investigating protein structure and function, especially proteins involved in bacterial curli (a type of functional amyloid) formation.
Featured Forum:
Jerald Villarmino, Chemistry Instructor at Visayas State University
Expertise: Pharmaceutical and Food Manufacturing
Jerald is a seasoned pharmaceutical chemist, food chemist, and a university instructor with a collective seven years of experience in analytical expertise and chemical education. His professional journey has afforded him a profound understanding of pharmaceutical and food manufacturing processes, with a particular emphasis on quality control, quality assurance, and quality management. Jerald also holds the esteemed position of being the founder of Green Chemistry Philippines, an NGO dedicated to promoting and raising awareness about chemical sustainability through the practice of green chemistry principles.
Beyond his professional pursuits, he is deeply committed to climate advocacy. Since 2020, he has dedicated his efforts to raising awareness about climate change and promoting the principles of green chemistry in the Philippines through speaking engagements and teaching. His overarching goal is to explore and champion sustainable solutions using green chemistry that bridge the gap between technological advancement and environmental conservation.
Most Active Forum: Green Chemistry Commitment Summit Connections
John De Backere, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, University of Toronto
Expertise: Inorganic Chemistry, Teaching-Undergraduate, Chemical Education Research
Dr. John De Backere (he/him) joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Toronto, Canada as an Assistant Professor in the Teaching Stream in 2019. Prior to this, he completed one year as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Toronto, focusing on highly electrophilic main-group sulfur and phosphorous cationic species. John completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario where his doctoral work focused on the challenging area of fundamental Inorganic fluorine and noble-gas chemistry.
His research interests are centered around the fields of Inorganic chemistry and chemistry education, in particular aspects of laboratory instruction, including incorporating green chemistry and sustainability practices, course-based research experiences, as well as interests in developing/incorporating innovative learning technologies.
Fun facts: I love escaping from to city to connect with nature; anything from taking my dog (he’s a black “Whoodle” which is a mix between a Wheaten Terrier and Poodle) on local hikes through forests up to more ambitious adventures in Yosemite National Park or back-country canoe camping in Algonquin Provincial Park. I also enjoy doing the majority of cooking in my household, which includes making a mean carbonara and delicious slow-cooked ribs (I have yet to tweet my culinary adventures on #ChemistsWhoCook).
Most Active Forum: “Need Help with Green Synthesis of Pharmaceuticals”
Featured Resource Upload:

Get to Know our GCTLC Forum Moderators!
August 29, 2024
With the GCTLC’s one-year birthday coming up, we wanted to take the time to uplift the folks putting the second “C” in the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC) […]
Categories: GCTLC
Back-to-School with Green Chemistry: Most Popular Resources for Elementary through Undergraduate Students
Picture strolling with students to collect oak leaves and acorn caps to extract dyes, using green principles to tie-dye in the lab. This lesson, Tie-Dyeing with Tannins and Iron, is one of the most downloaded resources from the Green Chemistry Teaching & Learning Community (GCTLC). As teachers and students alike prepare to return to the classroom, Beyond Benign is sharing a list of its most downloaded green chemistry resources to get both educators and students excited for the academic year ahead. Integrating green chemistry lessons in classrooms and labs is an opportunity to inspire students to practice sustainability through chemistry. Another resource topping the list is the Guidebook for Sustainability in Laboratories, which provides hands-on, action-oriented advice to improve the sustainability of lab users’ everyday practices.
Check out our back-to-school list to find resources to provide engaging and informative lessons in green chemistry. Want more? Then head over to the GCTLC, a virtual space for community members to connect to share ideas and resources to increase the practice of green chemistry from K-12 through higher education.
Elementary, Middle School, and High School Resources
This chapter provides three lessons to engage students with concepts of structure through design, modeling, and phenomena that use less toxic chemicals and limit student and teacher exposure. They include a desalination design challenge for elementary students, a lesson on the particle nature of matter for middle school students, and flame tests for high school students. Some of the questions posed to students include: why are some materials stiff and others flexible?; how can we design a material that has the physical properties we want?; why are there different colors of glass or gems?; and are there some materials that are hard to get rid of, or that don’t degrade over time?
Contributors: Annette Sebuyira, Stefanie Loomis, Erin Mayer, Veronica Morabito-Weeks, Scott Carlson, Jake Foster, Mollie Enright, Beyond Benign
Middle School Resources
This middle school unit engages students in a variety of investigations and modeling to explore the molecular nature of substances and how they interact, with explicit considerations of green chemistry principles. Included are four lessons, an “elephant toothpaste learning expedition,” and a summative assessment. The essential question that structures this unit is: How can we make something new that was not there before? Some of the questions posed to students include: how can we decide if what goes into a system is the same as what comes out of a system?; what happens when potatoes are placed in mystery liquid?; and how can scale help us understand puzzling things? Through this unit, students see the relevance of the activities and green chemistry principles to their lives and apply their learning to authentic situations.
Contributors: Annette Sebuyira, Stefanie Loomis, Erin Mayer, Veronica Morabito-Weeks, Scott Carlson, Jake Foster, Mollie Enright, Beyond Benign
Middle School and High School Resources
Biomimicry Matching Game: This game teaches secondary students about biomimicry, the science and capacity to emulate nature’s best biological ideas to solve human problems. For example, the spider’s web is coated with one of nature’s strongest adhesives, so scientists have recently done studies of what we call “spider web glue.” They found that it is made from proteins with sugars attached to the molecules (glycoproteins). The DNA and enzymes in the spider synthesize this glue, and scientists are working now to find ways to mimic this process. This game provides an engaging way to teach students about the many “green chemists” that exist in the natural world.
Contributors: Mollie Enright, Annette Sebuyira, Janie Butler, Beyond Benign
High School and Introductory Undergraduate Resources
Tie-Dyeing with Tannins and Iron: Use renewable and waste feedstocks to address green principles while having some tie-dye fun in the lab. This laboratory experiment uses tannins from acorns and iron from rusted metal to color cotton fabrics. It explores renewable dyes, oxidation and reduction reactions, and the creation of organometallic coordination polymers from waste resources. It’s suited for introductory and non-major students but can be extended into upper-level undergraduate courses as well. It’s well suited for the fall where students can collect plant matter to dye with — generating oranges, reds, blues, and blacks perfect for the Halloween and autumn seasons.
Contributor: Julian Silverman
High School or Undergraduate Resources
Guidebook for Sustainability in Laboratories: Scientific research and experiments in a laboratory generate vast amounts of waste in the form of chemicals or single-use plastics. Devices and equipment such as fumehoods and ultra-low temperature freezers consume as much energy as several households. These factors contribute to the carbon footprint of laboratory practices. This guidebook provides hands-on, action-oriented advice to improve the sustainability of lab users’ everyday practices. For example, closing sashes of fumehoods not only saves up to 67% of energy but is also much safer for the researchers working in the laboratory. These recommended measures not only reduce the carbon impact of laboratory practices but lead to reduced costs and enhanced cost efficiency. The guidebook provides advice to labs covering disciplines such as biology, chemistry, computational science, engineering, life sciences, materials sciences, medicine, pharmacy, and physics.
Contributors: Thomas Freese, Renate Kat, Suzanne Lanooij, Tanja C. Böllersen, Maurits De Roo, N Elzinga, MBeatty, Brian Setz, Roza Weber, Irene Maltagliati, Timea Gandek, Peter Fodran, Robert Pollice, Michael Lerch
Environmental Toxicology | Toxicology for Chemists Module 8: What are the sources and health effects of air pollutants? What hazardous substances can be found in drinking water? If a chemical is spilled during transportation, at what rate will it move through groundwater? This module serves as an introduction to the principles of environmental toxicity: air pollution, water pollution, and chemical transport and fate. Students will learn examples of pollutants and their effects on human health and the environment through case studies, activities, and in-class discussions. With the help of these materials, students learn chemistry by considering specific human experiences across the globe.
Contributors: Beyond Benign, Nesta Bortey-Sam
Introductory Undergraduate Resources
Green Chemistry University Course | Lecture 1 Course Introduction and Accidents and Their Unintentional Consequences: Lab safety starts with accident prevention. In this 14-week lecture series, students will learn about the course requirements and innovative capabilities of green chemistry. By using thoughtful design and green chemistry principles, students will find that accidents can be reduced or prevented.
Contributors: Beyond Benign, Yale Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering
Introductory Undergraduate or Upper/Advanced Undergraduate Resources
History and Principles of Toxicology | Toxicology for Chemists Curriculum Module 1: How do we “know” what is toxic? How much testing is enough? Who decides? Students gain an understanding of the history and principles of toxicology to contemplate these and other questions through lectures, case studies, and homework assignments. The first part of the module introduces students to toxicology, helping them understand the history of toxicology and its underlying principles; the progression of toxicology as a science; the development of regulatory agencies; key case studies that developed the field; and the paradox of uncertainty. In the second part of the module, students learn the general principles of toxicology; how dose determines the effect of a substance; and the factors that affect the toxicity of a chemical.
Contributors: Beyond Benign, Amy Cannon, Cynthia Woodbridge
Understanding Hazard and Risk | Toxicology for Chemists Module 2
This module is an introduction to understanding the principles of hazard and risk. The lectures contain multiple case studies and have a flexible format: you can take any slides and use them in any order to build your lecture. There are five student assignments that correspond to the slides, as well as a list of additional resources for instructors. Using these materials, students will understand the basic concepts of hazard, exposure, and risk; be able to perform a simple chemical hazard assessment; be able to compare similarities and differences between a risk assessment and an alternative assessment; and apply alternative assessment concepts to a product.
Contributors: Beyond Benign, Saskia van Bergen
Predictive Toxicology | Toxicology for Chemists Module 10: This module provides an overview of computational methods to predict the toxicity of chemicals. Through lecture slides, activities, videos, and in-class discussions, students will learn an overview of the latest methods that have been successfully applied to predict the toxic effects of chemicals, helping them understand the nexus of computational sciences and toxicology. Particular emphasis is placed on carbon-based toxicants. The lecture slides include multiple case studies, in-class discussions, assignments, and homework activities. This resource also provides educators access to multiple General Atomic and Molecular Electronic Structure System (GAMESS) activities and problem sets.
Contributors: Beyond Benign, Cintia Milagre
Toxicity of Metals | Toxicology for Chemists Module 6: What is metal pollution and what are its impacts on human health, animal health, and the environment? This module introduces students to metal toxicity, teaching them about the toxicity of metals in the body, metal pollution, the difference between metals and metalloids, mechanisms of heavy metal toxicity, and factors that affect metal toxicity. Through case studies, in-class assignments, and activities, students gain an applied outlook on the chemistry through reference to many global incidents and situations.
Contributors: Beyond Benign, Nesta Bortey-Sam
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Back-to-School with Green Chemistry: Most Popular Resources for Elementary through Undergraduate Students
August 16, 2024
Picture strolling with students to collect oak leaves and acorn caps to extract dyes, using green principles to tie-dye in the lab. This lesson, Tie-Dyeing with Tannins and Iron, is […]
Categories: GCTLC, Green Chemistry Education, Higher-Ed, K-12
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