GreenChem UBC has a series of goals which focus on educating student researchers and raising awareness about green chemistry.
We do this through fun events like our Sustainable Science Seminar series.
We are also committed to promoting the principles of green chemistry with non-scientists though our Conversing with the Community discussions.
Click on the images above for details!!
Friday April 22, 2022
Earth Day Sustainable Science Career Panel
There is often a lot of confusion surrounding jobs after graduate school – even more so if you are interested in a less traditional field like sustainable chemistry. That’s why for Earth Day 2022 we decided to hold a career panel featuring three sustainable scientist in both academia and industry to chat about how to transition to sustainability-related careers after graduation!
Introducing our three panelists:
- Dr. Megan Arnett – Executive Director of the Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry
- Dr. Namrata Jain – Marketing Manager at My Green Lab
- Dr. Love-Ese Chile – Technical Director and COO at Regenerative Waste Labs
(Fun fact – Dr. Jain and Dr. Chile were both founding members of Green Chemistry UBC!)
The panelists answered some tough questions for us, including how to get others to care about sustainability, moving the burden of environmentally-friendly practices from the consumer to industry and the supply chain, and how to combat the ever-increasing “Eco Anxiety” that we all face every day.
For more information about the career panel check out our blog post here or by clicking on the Earth Day image above. Please also check out the resources at each of the panelists’ websites linked above, and for more about building a career as a sustainable scientist and information about green chemistry (and green living!) check the links below. Thanks to our panelists for coming out, and we hope to speak with you again soon!
ACS – Building a Career as a Sustainable Scientist
7 Motivations for Sustainable Living from One Earth
One Earth Survey – Motivation for Lighter Living Actions
Cofactor Conversation Lab (Non-profit in Vancouver working to enhance engagement and conversations around sustainability strategies)
Thursday December 2, 2021
GreenChem UBC E-Waste Decorating Workshop
As a new event for this year, we held a workshop for Chemistry department members to come and create holiday decorations using e-waste thrown out by various labs in the department. E-waste is something that a lot of us forget about in our day to day lives, but it actually makes up a huge component of the world’s waste and disposal streams. In 2016, ~44.7 million metric tonnes of e-waste were created, [1] and Canada is responsible for a huge proportion of that (about 14.3 million tonnes in 2012!).
With this event, we hoped to bring a little bit more awareness to the issue of e-waste in Canada and specifically in our department, but of course we were able to de-stress a bit and have a lot of fun as well! Everyone got super creative, and we saw some amazing designs – check some of them out below:
Thursday November 25, 2021
Sustainable Scientist Seminar Series – Dr. Fran Kerton
Thanks to Dr. Kerton for coming out and sharing some of your interesting work into sustainable materials chemistry! We really enjoyed meeting you and hearing about your research – keep up the great work!
Check out Dr. Kerton’s website for more details!
Friday October 29, 2021
Hallowgreen 2021
This year’s Hallowgreen event was a great success, with groups participating in our green chemistry-themed escape room throughout the day. All of the groups managed to escape with time to spare – great job, everyone and thanks for coming out!
