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link to project
by R. Pariser
In May 2002 in Bangkok, Thailand, there were two green chemistry
activities. First, from 27-28 May, the U.S. team conducted a green
chemistry training workshop at Chulalongkorn University. This workshop,
organized by the Thai Chemical Society, was designed to expose students
and faculty from across Southeast Asia to the concepts, principles,
and methodologies of green chemistry. There were 90 registrants
for the meeting, a majority of whom were from Thailand, but participants
also came from Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, and Malaysia.
The workshop was supported by the IUPAC Chemistry Research Applied
to World Needs (CHEMRAWN) XIV program. The sessions provided the
necessary foundations for ongoing development and initiatives in
regional/country green chemistry education.
- Among the subjects covered were the following:
- how to create national green chemistry programs
- current environmental and human health issues that pose a challenge
for sustainability
- history of world approaches to dealing with threats to the
environment, ecosystems, and biosphere l
- definitions and 12 principles of green chemistry
Workshop instructors included Dennis L. Hjeresen, director of the
Green Chemistry Institute (GCI); Paul T. Anastas, director of environmental
programs at the White House Office of Science and Technology; Mary
M. Kirchhoff, assistant director of GCI and international workshop
coordinator; and John Warner, chairman of the chemistry department
at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. The coordinator in Thailand
was M. L. Siripastr Jayanta from the chemistry department of Chulalongkorn
University.
Immediately following the workshop, the instructors attended the
International Conference and Exhibition on Pure and Applied Chemistry
(PACCON 2002)a regional chemistry conference for Southeast
Asia. All delivered invited speeches on different aspects of green
chemistry and sustainable development. Dr. Hjeresen received a plaque
from the Thai Minister of Science, Technology, and Environment recognizing
the contribution of the ACS Green Chemistry Institute to environmental
chemistry in Southeast Asia.
While in Bangkok, Dr. Hjeresen also signed an agreement creating
a Thai chapter of the GCI. The chapter, located at Chulalongkorn
University, will coordinate green chemistry education and research
and development efforts with other universities in Thailand and
across Southeast Asia. The chapter was created in association with
the Thai Chemical Society and is the 23rd international GCI Chapter.
The chapter contact will be Dr. Supawan Tuntayanont, vice president
of the Thai Chemical Society and a professor at the university.
After the workshop, CHEMRAWN coordinators received follow-up information
and programming requests from Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines,
and Vietnam. The meeting has also stirred discussion in Australia
and a grant application to IUPAC to fund a Southeast Asia Green
Chemistry network.
Rudolph
Pariser is coordinator for CHEMRAWN XIV on Green Chemistry,
and an IUPAC Fellow.
www.iupac.org/standing/chemrawn.html