American Chemical Society AMA: I'm Jane Wissinger, from the University of Minnesota, Ask me anything about green chemistry education and research. AMA.

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Hi Reddit,

I am an Associate Professor and the Organic Chemistry Laboratory Director at the University of Minnesota (U of MN) in the Department of Chemistry. I have taught organic chemistry to over 20,000 students the last 23 years in both the lecture hall and laboratory. My passion the last fourteen years has been incorporating the principles of green chemistry into my laboratory curriculum and motivating colleagues and instructors to apply (green chemistry concepts)[ http://ift.tt/1TSWuWx] in their research and instruction.

Since including that first solvent-free synthesis into my organic chemistry laboratory course in 2002, there has been a snowball effect of student and graduate TA enthusiasm for performing research in the area of green chemistry in my group. Students dig it and have been the drivers for the development of several new teaching experiments which model the use of safer solvents, less hazardous reagents, the use of renewable starting materials, and reduction of waste. Employing our experiments and selecting from the wealth of green chemistry experiments now available in the primary literature and textbooks our whole organic chemistry curriculum has a green chemistry approach. Ask me about resources and transforming your laboratory course with modern examples of green chemistry.

As a senior PI working on broader impacts in the Center for Sustainable Polymers at the U of MN, I am also excited about several experiments we have developed and implemented at both the high school and college level on the topic of plastics from renewable feedstocks and design for degradation. I am not a polymer chemist by training but happy to share how we have weaved new innovative technologies in the field of sustainable polymers into curricular materials. Ask me about how to translate research results in green chemistry into teaching opportunities in the lab and classroom.

I will be back at 1pm EST (10 am PST, 6 pm UTC) to answer your questions, ask me anything!

">American Chemical Society AMA: I'm Jane Wissinger, from the University of Minnesota, Ask me anything about green chemistry education and research. AMA.