Green Chemistry Initiative at UofT

This past weekend, the GCI participated in the Science Rendezvous festival at the University of Toronto which takes science out of the lab and onto the street to showcase the fun and excitement of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics!

This amazing organization is dedicated to bringing exciting research and STEAM experiences to the greater public and inspiring others to see the wonder and bigger picture of STEAM.

This is one of many examples of the outreach initiatives that the GCI partakes in 😊, and we are so happy to have engaged in Canada's largest celebration of science which is Science Rendezvous!

⚠️ ONE DAY LEFT FOR REGISTRATION TO THE 8th ANNUAL GCI SYMPOSIUM ⚠️

Regular Registration is $55 CAD (ENDS TOMORROW, April 21st at 11:59 PM EDT).
Virtual attendance is $25 CAD.

As we near the end of our symposium marketing campaign, our blog post for the month of April showcases the return (and impact!) of the annual GCI symposium. Written by the GCI Chair, Hana El-Haddad, her blog post outlines the main symposium themes, the highly anticipated highlights, the symposium committee, and a question-and-answer series with the GCI Committee Chair, Francisco Yarur!

To read more, check out our latest blog post here: https://greenchemuoft.wordpress.com/2023/04/20/the-gcis-annual-symposium-back-after-a-long-hiatus/

There is also a volunteer sign-up sheet linked in the blog post – be sure to sign up if you are interested in helping us out on the big day!

Grab your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/designing-a-green-future-opportunities-for-green-and-sustainable-chemistry-tickets-508040762597

It’s not too late to spread the word and tell your friends. We can’t wait to see you there!

For more information, please visit our website at: http://greenchemuoft.ca/symposium.php

University of Toronto Sustainability Office

This month’s blog post highlights how the inherent goal of Green Chemistry is not just chemistry-specific; in fact, a more sustainable planet is well synchronized with the United Nations' ( ) sustainable development goals.

To learn more, check out our latest blog post written by GCI member-at-large, Karolina Rabeda from the Lautens Group at the University of Toronto ( ).

Blog post link: https://greenchemuoft.wordpress.com/2023/03/30/how-do-the-united-nations-sustainable-development-goals-fit-into-chemistry/

📢 ONE DAY LEFT FOR EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION 📢
Early Bird Registration is $45 CAD (ENDS TOMORROW, March 21st at 11:59 PM EDT).
Virtual attendance is $25 CAD.

To conclude our symposium, we will be inviting a list of speakers from academia, a non-profit organization, and the private sector to discuss the challenges that we need to overcome and bridge the gaps between industry and academia. Sustainability is a key challenge for all the different sectors, which is why collaboration is essential.

Included in our list of speakers are Professor Cynthia M. Goh from the University of Toronto ( ) and co-Founder of Pueblo Science ( ) ; Christopher Dixon, Ph.D. – Innovation and R&D Advisor at Mitacs ( ); and Phil De Luna, Ph.D. – Carbontech & Sustainability Expert at McKinsey & Company ( ), Director of Materials for Clean Fuels at the National Research Council of Canada ( ), Mentor on Climate and Matter at the Creative Destruction Lab ( ), and Adjunct Professor in the Materials Science & Engineering Department at the University of Toronto.

Grab your early bird tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/designing-a-green-future-opportunities-for-green-and-sustainable-chemistry-tickets-508040762597

It’s not too late to spread the word and tell your friends. We can’t wait to see you there!

For more information, please visit our website at: http://greenchemuoft.ca/symposium.php

Join us for our second seminar series of March 2023 featuring Prof. Audrey Laventure from the Department of Chemistry at the Université de Montréal ( )!

Audrey Laventure is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the Université de Montréal and is the Canada Research Chair in Functional Polymer Materials. Her expertise lies at the intersection of physical chemistry and advanced materials characterization. She did her postdoc as an NSERC ( ) Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Calgary (2017-2020) and her Ph.D. as an NSERC Vanier Fellow at the Université de Montréal (2013-2017), whose excellence was recognized by the Governor General's Gold Medal 🏅, as well as by the Best Thesis Award of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies ⭐️. Audrey is involved in the scientific community at different levels: she is a co-organizer of the High Polymer Forum Conference, an executive member of the MSED of the Chemical Institute of Canada, and a Community Board member of the Materials Horizons journal (RSC, ). She is also very interested and engaged in science policy: from 2020 to 2023, she was a member of the Canada Chief Science Advisor’s Youth Council, and she is currently a member of the Science Meets Parliament 2023 cohort.

The seminar will be held on 🗓️ Thursday, March 23rd at 1:00 PM EST. This seminar will be delivered in person in the Davenport East Wing and also virtually via zoom.

If you are not able to attend in person, please join via the zoom Meeting ID: 817 9534 1310 (Passcode: 2023).

We look forward to seeing you there!

Friendly reminder that the early bird registration for the 8th annual GCI symposium closes in ❗ TWO WEEKS ❗. You have until 11:59 PM EDT on March 21st to secure your early bird tickets! Run don’t walk and get your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/designing-a-green-future-opportunities-for-green-and-sustainable-chemistry-tickets-508040762597

Early Bird Registration is $45 CAD.
Virtual attendance is $25 CAD.

Don’t forget to check out the speakers in our earlier post.

We can’t wait to see you there!

For more information, please visit our website at: http://greenchemuoft.ca/symposium.php

For such a lightweight material, polystyrene-based styrofoam poses a hefty challenge when it comes to its recycling. The problem of recycling polystyrene has only grown in the past few years but several innovative start-ups are finding clever and sustainable solutions to this issue. Read more about the strides and progress in polystyrene recycling in this month’s blog post written by Victor Lotocki, Ph.D. student in the Seferos Research Group at the University of Toronto. Victor delves into the chemistry of polystyrene, the underlying reasons why it persists in our environment, and the up-and-coming Canadian-based companies tackling this challenge such as GreenMantra, Pyrowave, and Polystyvert!

Blog post link: https://greenchemuoft.wordpress.com/2023/02/28/the-polystyrene-problem/

: Professor Karen Wilson

Karen Wilson (Twitter handle: ) is a Professor of Catalysis at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology ( ) where she works on the development of heterogeneous catalysts for clean chemical synthesis. Specifically, she focuses on the design of tuneable porous materials for sustainable fuels and chemicals from renewable resources such as waste biomass. Professor Wilson is also an associate editor for the RSC Sustainable Energy & Fuels Journal and the founding Director of the “Global Bioenergy, Biofuels, and Biorefining Network”.

Professor Wilson earned a B.A.(Hons) in Chemistry and a PhD in Heterogeneous Catalysis and Surface Science at the University of Cambridge with Professor Richard M. Lambert. Subsequently, she completed her post-doctoral research in the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence at the University of York with Professor James H. Clark. Prior to RMIT, Professor Wilson was a Chair of Catalysis and Research Director of the European Bioenergy Research Institute at Aston University. In 2011, she was awarded a Royal Society Industry Fellowship for her work on catalysts in biofuel synthesis geared towards industrial applications. Additionally, she was an international advisor on both Solid Waste Management and the Green Economy (2015), and on Biofuels and Bioconversion (2010) for the German National Academy of Sciences. Recently, she co-authored an editorial issue in the ACS Green Chemistry Institute about Women in Green Chemistry and Engineering, promoting the need for equity, diversity, and women in leadership positions to ensure a sustainable future.

Experimenting with the utilisation of renewable resources in chemical processes is an integral part of Green and Sustainable Chemistry Research. With her notable contribution to Green Chemistry, we want to honour Professor Wilson for being an inspiring !