American Chemical Society AMA: I'm Marty Mulvihill, from the University of California, Berkeley and Safer Made. Ask me anything about chemistry in our products and safer chemical design AMA.

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Hi Reddit!

I am a chemist and I love the intrinsic beauty and fascinating properties of atoms and molecules. I believe that, as a chemist, my training affords me unique insight into both the benefits and potential harm created by the chemicals and chemistry that surrounds us in our daily lives. Chemicals are neither inherently good nor inherently bad; they are only inherently interesting.

My chemistry research focuses at the intersection of chemistry, technology, human health, and the environment. For example, I created a sensor for arsenic in ground water based on the shape-controlled synthesis of silver nanoparticles. More recently I have been developing methods for identifying and screening safer bio-based chemical replacements for harmful chemicals like phthalates and BPA.

My work has allowed me to engage with a wide range of people; most of them are not chemists. I have worked with product designers at leading consumer brands, with government agencies, and with advocacy groups. All of them share a common interest in promoting the adoption of chemicals that are inherently safer for human health and the environment. They often come to me because they are concerned about the potential for chemicals to harm people or the environment. While these fears may sound like “chemophobia,” my experience is that they are often rooted in much deeper questions about relative chemical safety, regulatory liability, consumer trends, and the desire to do the right thing for their family, community, business, and environment.

I am now co-founding a new organization, Safer Made, to support entrepreneurs and early stage businesses who are developing technologies that eliminate the use of hazardous chemicals. Safer Made will be a mission-driven venture capital fund that will help commercialize new chemicals, manufacturing technologies and products that are inherently safer for human health and the environment.

For this Reddit discussion, I look forward to engaging folks around the question: What can be done to promote the design, use, and adoption of safer and more sustainable chemicals and products? I'll be back at 1 pm ET to answer your questions, ask me anything about making safer chemicals and products.

More about me: Linkedin (http://ift.tt/2beWakZ), Twitter: @MJMulvihill (https://twitter.com/MJMulvihill)

">American Chemical Society AMA: I'm Marty Mulvihill, from the University of California, Berkeley and Safer Made. Ask me anything about chemistry in our products and safer chemical design AMA.