Welcome to Penn State Schuylkill Green Chemistry. As an extension of Schuylkill Sustainability, this work aims to educate about the principles, benefits, and continuing work in Green Chemistry.
Penn State Schuylkill Green Chemistry is a labor of green love. This site is designed to bring the principles of Green Chemistry to life for students. It is, in part, a revival of Greening Across the Chemistry Curriculum from the University of Scranton where faculty member, Mary Ann Smith, was a student learning chemistry back in the mid-2000s. Dr. Michael Cann, “Mr. Green Chemistry” at Scranton, wanted to develop ways to bring this special aspect of chemistry to students and inspired others to learn how it applies.
The information provided in these pages is meant to give a taste of the Green Chemistry Principles to students and has references to Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Winners. Though this concept of incorporating Green Chemistry via projects might sound weird, it has an impact. As Ms. Smith notes, upon taking Dr. Cann’s Environmental Chemistry Seminar course in fall 2006, she still remembers my project.
Unlike the longer modules and lesson plans from Scranton, these modules are designed to be non-major friendly. They have been used with science majors as well, and are designed to be incorporated into discussion boards within your Learning Management System. You can check out the modules for chemistry courses on this page.
If nothing else, we hope you gain a better appreciation of Green Chemistry. Maybe you’ll get some more interest in sustainability. Check out the Schuylkill Sustainable site for some of the other projects to improve our world.