Friday, September 2, 2011

Ecological / Responsible Chemistry with Dr. John Warner



For a chance to earn 10 points extra credit in your homework category, I would like to you watch two short videos and answer five questions. The two videos are from a talk given by an organic / industrial chemist by the name of Dr. John Warner. I had the pleasure of seeing Dr. Warner give his presentation in person at the American Chemistry Society conference in Denver last Sunday. He is the founder of a company that emphasizes creating chemicals that are chemically benign, which means they are ecologically neutral to the environment. Yet, the chemicals still do what they are designed for just as effectively as hazardous chemicals. He has a great message on how chemists / society can tackle the problem of environmentally aggresive chemicals by eliminating the toxicity in the design phase of a chemical. Dr. Warner and colleagues have come up with 12 principles of what makes chemistry "green". Those principles are in the images shown above.


Dr. Warner's talk is in two parts: Video 1 and Video 2


After you watch the videos, I would like you to answer the questions below and e-mail me the answers at cbrueckner@lps.k12.co.us .


  1. What was Dr. Warner's orginal major as an undergraduate student at the University of Massachusetts in Boston?


  2. Dr. Warner's picture appeared on the cover of a local Boston magazine with what other celebrity?


  3. What event in Dr. Warner's life made him think about the possible toxicity of the chemicals that he had designed?


  4. In Dr. Warner's opinion, what is a missing component of chemistry training programs (Master's and PhD)?


  5. When is the best time to address the toxicity of a chemical?


Last but not least, below is the solution to problem #8 from the worksheet on solubility and ion concentration that was worked on in class on Friday. On Tuesday, September 6th, 2011, you must have the worksheet completed and the Ion Lab analysis completed. Of course, you can always work on WebAssign also.











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