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
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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.
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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”
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