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The research experiences for undergraduates (REU) programGreg M. Swain, hailing from the Department of Chemistry at Michigan State University, examines cross-disciplinary training in sustainable chemistry and chemical processes, including the critical role of mentoring and finding research experiences for undergraduates. Sustainability is the practice of reducing the environmental impacts of human existence and conserving natural resources for future generations. Green chemistry is a part of the sustainability approach that encourages manufacturing processes and the design of products that minimize the use and generation of hazardous substances. Stated another way, sustainable chemistry and chemical processes should use resources, including energy and raw materials, “at a rate at which they can be replaced naturally, and the generation” of waste cannot be faster than the rate of their remediation, as Horváth IT points out. (1)
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The Sustainable Materials Roadmap
Abstract Our ability to produce and transform engineered materials over the past 150 years is responsible for our high standards of living today, especially in the developed economies. Yet, we must carefully think of the effects our addiction to creating and using materials at this fast rate will have on the future generations. The way we currently make and use materials detrimentally affects the planet Earth, creating many severe environmental problems. It affects the next generations by putting in danger the future of economy, energy, and climate. We are at the point where something must drastically change, and it must change NOW. We must create more sustainable materials alternatives using natural raw materials and inspiration from Nature while making sure not to deplete important resources, i.e. in competition with the food chain supply. We must use less materials, eliminate the use of toxic materials and create a circular materials economy where reuse and recycle are priorities. We must develop sustainable methods for materials recycling and encourage design for disassembly. We must look across the whole materials life cycle from raw resources till end of life and apply thorough life cycle assessments based on reliable and relevant data to quantify sustainability.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1651668
- PAR ID:
- 10340382
- Author(s) / Creator(s):
- ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more »
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Physics: Materials
- ISSN:
- 2515-7639
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7639/ac4ee5
