Beyond Benign

Chemists Celebrate Earth Day
2019-04-13 11:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York) | Museum of Science, Boston, MA, 02114, United States
Chemists Celebrate Earth Week at the Blue Wing of Museum of Science on Saturday April 13, 2019 from 11.00 am – 3.00 pm. The theme for event this year is Paper “Take Note: The Chemistry of Paper”. This event is open to the public! Beyond Benign Outreach Fellows will be facilitating an activity about how shark skin inspired an antibacterial film called Sharklet.

National Science Teachers Association National Conference
2019-04-11 - 2019-04-14 | America’s Center Convention Complex, 701 Convention Plaza, St Louis, MO, 63101, United States
Beyond Benign Lead Teachers Bob Baldo, Tanya Elmers and Jon Baek will all be leading workshops at the National Science Teachers Association. Come to booth 1641 to learn how to integrate green chemistry into your elementary, middle, and high school classrooms.
Join us on Sunday April 14th at 11am for Learning from Nature: STEAM Investigations for the Elementary Classroom.

Ipswich STEAM Showcase
2019-04-09 17:00 - 19:00 | Ipswich High School, Ipswich, MA
Beyond Benign Outreach Fellows will be one of many groups facilitating STEAM activities for the students of Ipswich Public Schools. With the Outreach Fellows, students will explore the life cycle of synthetic and natural fibers, and investigate different types of fabrics using dye.

Full STEAM Ahead
2019-04-04 18:30 - 20:00 | Lincoln Elementary School, 161 Mystic Valley Pkwy, Winchester, MA, 01890, United States
Families at Lincoln Elementary School will learn from Beyond Benign Outreach Fellows about how green chemistry can help reduce the impacts of ocean acidfication with a dry ice demonstration!

ACS National Meeting, Orlando
2019-03-31 - 2019-04-04
Join Beyond Benign staff and Lead Teachers at the ACS National Meeting and Exposition in Orlando, FL
Sunday, 8:35am: CHED symposium “Chemistry Teachers Day Program” – Beyond Benign Lead Teachers, Dr. Lurea Doody and Cassandra Knutson will present “Chemistry and the final frontier: Student designed sustainable payloads at the edge of space” (Room W315A – Orange County Convention Center) Abstract
Sunday, 1:30pm – 4:55pm: CHED symposium “Green and Sustainable Chemistry Theory and Practice: Chemistry for New Frontiers” Session, organized by Dr. Ed Brush (Bridgewater State University) and Dr. Jane Wissinger (Univ. of MN) – Beyond Benign’s ED Amy Cannon will present (4:35pm) on “Green chemistry commitment: Progress report and future” (Room W311C – Orange County Convention Center) Abstract
Sunday, 7:00 – 9:00pm: Stop by General Posters to meet Beyond Benign’s Director of the Green Chemistry Commitment program, Irv Levy presenting “The Green Chemistry Commitment” (West Hall C, Orange County Convention Center) Abstract
Monday, 9:15am: CHED symposium “Chemistry and Our Common Future: 2019 George C. Pimentel Award Symposium in Honor of Cathy Middlecamp” – Beyond Benign’s Director of the Green Chemistry Commitment, Irv Levy, will present “Environmental advocacy in action: The green chemistry commitment” (Room W315A, Orange County Convention Center) Abstract
Monday, 8:30am – 12:00pm: CHED symposium “Green Chemistry Student Chapters: Stories of Success” – featuring some Green Chemistry Commitment signer schools’ student chapters, presided by Beyond Benign’s graduate student liaison, Mollie Enright (University of Toledo) (Room W311C, Orange County Convention Center) Session
Monday, 11:50am: CHED “Exploring the use of PLA films for oil spill cleanup: A sustainable classroom experiment”- led by Jane E Wissinger, Beyond Benign Lead Teacher, Cassandra Knutson, and colleagues from the University of Minnesota and Boston College. (Room W311D, Orange Country Convention Center) Abstract
Monday, 1:30 – 5:30pm: CHED symposium “UN Sustainable Development Goals: Unique Opportunities for the Chemical Enterprise” (W311C, Orange County Convention Center) Session
Tuesday AM: SCHB symposium “Frontiers in Green Chemistry for Small Businesses” – Dr. Amy Cannon (for Dr. John Warner) will present “Green chemistry: The technology greenhouse” (Orlando V – Hilton Orlando)
Tuesday, 1:30 – 4:10pm: CHED symposium “Green Chemistry as a Pillar of Safety Education”, organized by Dr. Haim Weizman (UC San Diego) and Dr. Jane Wissinger (Univ. of MN) (Room W311C, Orange County Convention Center) Session
Wednesday, 9:15am: CHED symposium “Research on Learning in the Laboratory” Dr. Lurea Doody (Beyond Benign Lead Teacher) will present “Beyond gate-keeping: Improving the first-semester general chemistry laboratory experience” (Room W311D, Orange County Convention Center) Abstract

Girls Inc. of Lynn SMART Girls Summit
2019-03-27 09:00 - 13:00
Girls Inc is hosting their annual SMART (Science Math And Relevant Technology) Girls Summit for middle school girls in Lynn, MA. The goal of this event is to increase interest and participation in STEM. Beyond Benign will be leading a workshop on creating solar cells using the green chemistry criteria. The event will also feature workshops facilitated by other STEM organizations, and a exciting demonstration from the Museum of Science.

Girls Scouts STEM Conference
2019-03-24 | Framingham State University, 100 State St, Framingham, MA, 01701, United States
Girls Scouts will have the opportunity to create solar cells using the green chemistry principles! We will also have an Expo table focusing on biomimicry!

Green Chemistry – The Connection to Environmental Justice
2019-03-19 14:00 - 15:00
Chemistry has provided significant benefits to society. It has also had major impacts on human and ecosystem health. Chemical accidents like the 1984 Union Carbide plant in Bhopal India, which killed more than 15,000 people, illustrate the potential for chemistry to cause significant harm. Tragic events on a big scale are just one manifestation of negative impacts of chemistry. People around the planet live with the chemical contamination of their communities, their homes, and their bodies. But we’re not equally exposed.
Minority and lower income communities are disproportionately impacted by chemical exposures. The Environmental Justice movement arose in the late 1980s in response to well-documented cases of “environmental racism” – where African American and other minority communities were disproportionately exposed to toxic chemical production and waste, while not receiving the economic benefits. Environmental justice is defined as is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people — regardless of race, color, national origin, or income — with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
It is essential that chemists practicing green chemistry understand the potential impacts that chemistry can have on communities and ecosystems, as well as the ethical and social considerations underlying the field. Green chemistry is one potential solution to the impacts communities have faced.
In this webinar moderated by Dr. Joel Tickner (Professor of Environmental Health, University of Massachusetts Lowell), Monique Harden and Martha Dina Arguello – two leaders of the environmental justice movement – will introduce participants to the concept of environmental justice, how environmental injustice affects communities and the important role that green chemistry and green chemists can play in both improving community and ecosystem health and creating new economic opportunities for communities. Speakers will discuss ways in which minority and lower income communities can become active participants in the green chemistry movement.
Please join us for this important, solutions-oriented conversation. Register now!
Speaker bios:
Martha Dina Arguello – Executive Director, Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles: For the past 35 years, Martha has served in the non-profit sector as an advocate, community organizer, and coalition builder. She joined PSR-LA in 1998 to launch the environmental health programs, and became Executive Director in November 2007. She is committed to making the credible voice of physicians a powerful instrument for transforming California and our planet into a more peaceful and healthy place.
As a coalition builder, Martha has emphasized the need for local grassroots advocacy working in partnership with statewide policy actions. She is an active board member of numerous organizations, including Californians for Pesticide Reform, Californians for a Healthy and Green Economy . She was appointed to California Air Resources Board’s Global Warming Environmental Justice Advisory Committee and 617 Implementation Working Group.
Monique Harden is the Assistant Director of Law and Policy and the Community Engagement Program Manager at the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice. The Center provides research, education, community and student engagement support, as well as worker training in environmental careers. Ms. Harden has more than 20 years of achievements in the practice of law that have helped predominantly African American communities win significant environmental justice victories in the Gulf Coast Region. She is the former co-director of Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, a public interest law firm whose representation of Mossville Environmental Action Now achieved the international precedent recognizing environmental racism as a human rights violation and the right of U.S. residents to seek remedies for it at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Ms. Harden has authored papers and lectured on the right of people to live in a healthy environment and the duties of government to protect this right vis-à-vis the U.S. Constitution, international human rights laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disability Act, and environmental laws. She has spearheaded local, regional, and international coalitions in support of communities advocating for the human right to a healthy environment. She works to democratize policymaking on environmental matters by supporting community-based organizations to engage policymakers on reducing pollution that harms their health and warms our planet.

High School Marine Science Symposium
2019-03-07 08:00 - 13:00 | Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
High school students will learn from Beyond Benign Outreach Fellows about how green chemistry can help reduce ocean plastics and the impacts of ocean acidification.

Michigan Science Teacher Association Annual Conference
2019-03-01 | Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Join Beyond Benign Lead Teachers Jen Sherburn and Erika Fatura as they discuss bringing green chemistry into classrooms!

Calgary City Teachers' Convention
2019-02-14 - 2019-02-15

Design and Engineering Expo @ Bagnall Elementary School
2019-01-31 04:30 - 19:30 | Bagnall Elementary School, 253 School St, Groveland, MA, 01834, United States
Beyond Benign Outreach Fellows will be leading green chemistry activities for elementary school students during the Design and Engineering Expo in Groveland, MA!

Harvard Extension School Course: ENVR E-158A Green Chemistry
2019-01-30
January 30 – May 15, 2019
This Harvard Extension School Course is taught by Dr. John Warner co-founder of the field of green chemistry, Beyond Benign and Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry. This course will present the fundamentals of green chemistry and connect the science behind sustainability issues with efforts that can be taken to create solutions. Green Chemistry is the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. While there are many mechanisms and tools available to assess the impact of materials and processes on human health and the environment, there are few tools available to help design and create products as such. This course will explore examples from a wide spectrum of industrial sectors including construction, personal care, pharmaceuticals and electronics. Through examples, students will be presented with the premise that green chemistry offers organizations a boost to innovation and faster time to market. There is no text for this class, although students are encouraged to read “Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice” by Paul Anastas and John Warner, Oxford University Press, 2000. (ISBN-10:0198506988, ISBN-13:9780198506980. Course content will include lectures, readings and discussions. Readings are intended to be timely and current, so will be posted two weeks prior to each class.
This class is designed for both non-chemists and practicing professional chemists. A chemistry primer will be provided the second week of class to make sure all students have the appropriate background.

From Novice to Confident Green Chemistry Educator and the Lessons Learned
2019-01-29 17:00 - 18:00
Join us to learn about success stories from teachers who have adopted green chemistry in their classroom and increased safety in their labs. This interactive webinar will feature Lead Teachers from NYC sharing how they reduce hazards, stay on budget, and meet standards without sacrificing hands-on labs in their classrooms. Click on link below to register for this webinar!

Green Chemistry: Inventing a Circular Economy through a Thermodynamic Lens
2018-12-06 13:00 - 14:00
Speaker: Dr. John Warner, Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry
Register Now!
The natural world is a beautiful and intricate system of intertwined and overlapping materials ecosystems. As humans, our understanding of the various interrelationships is only at the most basic level. One important reason why these naturally interdependent cyclic systems exist with exquisite complexity is because of the very fact that they all co-emerged over hundreds of thousands of years in the presence of one another. Evolutionary forces drove symbiotic relationships by selecting for and against mechanisms and materials that were conducive to the success of the entire multi-component matrix. As human society seeks to create a circular economy, we unfortunately have the disadvantage that our various industrial “species” have developed with a level of independence, essentially unaware of adjacent processes. We are forced into a position of creating connectivities that were not part of the considerations in the original design. Obviously this creates a daunting challenge. While there have been some examples of the circular economy designed and deployed in many industrial settings, the vast majority of industrial products and processes continue to exist disconnected and unsustainable over the long run. The pathway to create most of these technological ecosystems will require the inventive application of green chemistry (the molecular level mechanistic underpinnings of sustainability). Nature creates materials of such exquisite structural complexity and diversity that humans may never be able to mimic them. Nature’s elegance is even more astounding when one considers the fact that most chemistry in the biological world is carried out at ambient temperature and pressure using water, for the most part, as its reaction medium. For society to become truly sustainable, the way we manufacture, use and repurpose materials must change dramatically. This presentation will describe John Warner’s entropic considerations of materials design and illustrate their application through recent R&D examples from the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry.

Michigan Science Teachers Association Annual Conference
2018-11-28 | Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Join Beyond Benign Lead Teachers Jen Sherburn and Erika Fatura at the MSTA Conference.

Art Opening Reception: Photography by Stan Czesniuk
2018-11-15 17:00 - 19:00 | Beyond Benign, 100 Research Drive, Wilmington, MA, United States
Our newest Art Exhibit features beautiful photography by local artist Stan Czesniuk. Stan’s photography includes a compilation of items and subjects that are often overlooked. Beautiful images of nature, and subjects that capture his affinity for the outdoors, Stan’s images make the ordinary look extraordinary.
Join us for FOOD, DRINKS and MUSIC.
Tours of Beyond Benign and the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry will be available from 4:30-5:30.
The opening is free and open to the public.
RSVP: info@beyondbenign.org

Massachusetts STEM Summit
2018-11-14 08:00 - 16:00 | DCU Center, 50 Foster St, Worchester, MA, 01608, United States
Come visit Bob Baldo and Janie Butler who will be sharing resources and lessons on sustainable science for grades 2 through 12.

Green Chemistry ACS Student Chapters: Models of Success
2018-11-13 14:00 - 15:00
Is your ACS Student Chapter interested in becoming a Green Chemistry Student Chapter? Join us as we talk about what it takes to be eligible for a Green Chemistry Student Chapter Award. We will provide you with resources and examples of green chemistry activities for your Student Chapter. You will also have an opportunity to hear from successful Green Chemistry Student Chapters including the University of New England.
Speakers include:

Jennifer MacKellar, Program Manager, ACS Green Chemistry Institute
Dr. Amy Keirstead, Interim Associate Dean, College of Arts & Sciences, Associate Professor of Chemistry, University of New England
Jessica White, ACS Student Chapter President, University of New England

Register Now!

Minnesota Conference on Science Education (MnCOSE)
2018-11-09 - 2018-11-10 | Rivers Edge Convention Center, 10 4th Ave, St. Cloud, MN, 56301, United States
Join Cassie Javner and Cassie Knutson in their hands-on workshops at MnCOSE 2018. They will be demonstrating classroom adaptations of plastic alternatives, along with showing the greener replacement labs they do in their AP Chemistry courses.
Microscopic Mycelium: Growing Sustainable Solutions and Replacing Traditional Labs with Greener Alternatives

Science Teachers' Association of Ontario (STAO) 2018
2018-11-08 - 2018-11-10 | Delta Hotels Toronto Airport & Conference Centre, 655 Dixon Road, Toronto, M9W IJ3, Canada
Join Lead Teacher Richard Cooper in a demonstration on green chemistry and it’s alignment in international standards.

The Science Teachers Association of New York State (STANYS) Annual Conference
2018-11-04 13:45 - 14:45 | Riverside Conference Center, 123 E Main St, Rochester, NY, 14604, United States
Green Chemistry in Industry, Dana Wadnola and Stephen Costanza
Join Dana and Stephen present hands-on activities on sharkskin in their talk, “Green Chemistry in Industry.”

North Shore Nature Fair
2018-11-04 13:00 - 15:00 | Glen Urquhart School, 74 Hart St, Beverly, MA, 01915, United States
Glen Urquhart School will be hosting their 2nd annual Nature Fair to highlight the local natural environment. This is a family-friendly event for attendees to participate in hands-on nature activities. Beyond Benign will have a booth, and our Outreach Fellows will be facilitating green chemistry activities.

Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers (MAST) Conference
2018-11-02 11:00 - 12:00 | Boxborough Regency, 242 Adams Pl, Boxborough, MA, 01719, United States
Join Lead Teachers Raks Derival and Gisele Rubino for an interactive workshop at MAST.
Sustainable Living: A Green Chemistry Final Project
The Sustainable Living Project is the final project in Innovation Academy Charter School chemistry classes. Guided by the 12 principles of Green Chemistry, students are able to design a safer personal care product that balances safety, cost and performance. Tips on DIY face/body soap scrubs will be shared.
Location: Box-wood Room

2018 Conference for the Advancement of Science Teaching (CAST) Conference
2018-11-01 - 2018-11-03 | Fort Worth Convention Center, 1201 Houston St, Fort Worth, TX, 76102, United States
Come see Lead Teacher Jen Sherburn at CAST present hands-on activities on environmentally-friendly replacements to styrofoam and plastic, in addition to nature inspired materials that prevent bacteria from growing. All activities are ready to be put into the classroom!

New Jersey Science Convention
2018-10-23 - 2018-10-24 | Princeton Marriott Forrestal, 100 College Rd E, Princeton, NJ, 08540, United States
Learn from ACS Safety Committee Member Bettyann Howson how to integrate and align Beyond Benign’s Types of Reaction Lab to increase safety in the high school classroom.

MA STEM Week
2018-10-22 08:00 - 2018-10-26 17:00
In an effort to highlight how strong STEM education will lead to a talented and skilled workforce, Governor Baker and Lt. Governor Polito, in collaboration with the STEM Advisory Council, are planning a statewide “STEM Week” from October 22-26, 2018. Schools will be highlighting STEM curriculum and other STEM-related projects/activities. On October 26th, Beyond Benign will be facilitating a STEM Night at Girls Inc of Lynn, introducing girls to green chemistry through hands-on activities. If you would like to participate in Mass STEM Week, please contact your Regional STEM Network Manager.

National Chemistry Week
2018-10-21 08:00 - 2018-10-27 17:00
The mission of National Chemistry Week is to reach the public, particularly school-aged children with positive messages about chemistry! Beyond Benign will be facilitating activities at outreach events hosted by the Museum of Science in Boston, MA.
More information to come!

Washington Science Teachers Association Conference
2018-10-19 - 2018-10-20 | 4 Points by Sheraton Bellingham Hotel and Conference Center, Bellingham, WA, United States
Learning from Nature: STEAM Investigations for the Elementary Classroom
Learn how Target, Beyond Benign and a team of elementary school teachers are working together to create interactive curriculum spotlighting technologies inspired by nature. Explore practical tips for implementing open-access units covering engineering design, animal adaptations and properties of matter.

New Hampshire Science Teachers Association Fall Conference
2018-10-15 - 2018-10-16 | Church Landing, 281 Daniel Webster Hw, Meredith, NH, 03253, United States
Join Eric Nash, Beyond Benign Lead Teacher from NH, for an interactive presentation featuring “Kind by Design” student inventions inspired by biomimicry and guided by green chemistry principles.
