NSERC CREATE in Green Chemistry

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Chemicals and their potential for hazard are the focus of much concern and controversy. Efforts to reduce or eliminate these hazards are now driving a foundational shift in the material basis of our economy. Green Chemistry is the relatively new field that strives to replace current polluting chemical feedstocks, reactions, processes and products with alternatives that are "benign by design". Because there is a chemical process involved in the manufacture of >97% of all the products we use (everything from paper to electronics devices to food) the scope of innovation required for the 'greening' of the global chemical enterprise is vast. The implementation of research advances made in Green Chemistry is being slowed however, by the training gap that exists between research chemists, specialists in the health and environmental impacts of chemicals, and business decision-makers. GreenChem-CREATE is directly addressing this interdisciplinary training gap by supporting undergraduate and graduate researchers' stipends in business, chemistry, and environmental engineering plus an innovative program of value-added training. Program elements include internships in industrial research/development laboratories and business/policy centres, international student exchanges, workshops (toxicology, business plan development, new laboratory techniques), professional skills building (ethics, scientific writing, media management), and an analysis of the global chemical enterprise including commercialization case studies, the role of regulatory frameworks, and intellectual property in innovation. The GreenChem-CREATE program broadly aims to produce trainees who will be capable of assuming leadership roles in Canada's transition to a clean technology-based economy. Graduates of the program, working in chemistry, chemical engineering, and management/strategy, will be equipped with the practical skills, real-world experience and interdisciplinary knowledge they need to become effective clean technology change agents.