Annual Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference

绿色化学与工程年会（www.GCandE.org）由美国化学会绿色化学研究所（ACS GCI）每年组织一次，美国化学工程师学会、美国政府机构、学术和行业组织积极参与。年度会议的目的是在科学家和工程师之间建立跨学科的桥梁，他们使用化学作为工具来开发可持续发展的突破性进展。现在已经是第12届了，年度会议的重点是与生物医学研究领域相关的主题，如健康和医学、能源转换和材料加工实践。下一次会议定于2008年6月24日至26日在华盛顿特区举行，届时将举行总统绿色化学挑战奖获奖者的表彰仪式。2009年的会议也将于6月在华盛顿特区举行。国家卫生研究院通过国家普通医学科学研究所（NIGMS）支持了2007年的会议。本提案要求为2008年和2009年会议提供4万美元的部分支持（每年2万美元）。NIGMS的财政支持将使我们能够为参加会议的本科生和研究生提供更低的注册费和特别节目（为期一天的会前研讨会和会议海报会议）。这个年度会议是讨论绿色化学和工程研究进展的首要活动。每年，来自学术界、政府和工业界的科学家都会分享化学和化学工程如何通过设计良性化学品和化学过程为更可持续的未来做出贡献的最新成果。在全球范围内，它是参加人数最多的绿色化学和工程年度会议。在过去的五年中，出席人数从2003年的190人增加到2007年的450人，参加该活动的独特机构的数量在同一时期从115家增加到234家，增加了一倍多。大约10%的会议参与者居住在美国以外。约50名本科生和研究生参加会议，并有资格参加特别设计的学生节目。这次会议的预期成果是为科学家们提供一个绝佳的机会来分享想法，并获得对化学对可持续发展的贡献的重要性的认识。从最广泛的意义上讲，绿色化学和工程方法通过减少接触在其整个生命周期（制造、使用和处置）中可能导致疾病的危险化学品来改善公众健康。绿色化学和工程方法不是使用监管限制来控制风险和暴露，而是侧重于化学物质、材料和设计良性的过程。通过这种方式，它们提供了更高的性能和更高的价值，同时实现了保护和增进人类健康和环境的所有目标。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Project Summary The annual Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference (www.GCandE.org) is organized each year by the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute (ACS GCI) with the active involvement of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, U.S. government agencies, and academic and industry organizations. The purpose of the annual conference is to create interdisciplinary bridges among scientists and engineers who use chemistry as a tool to develop breakthrough advances for sustainability. Now in its 12th year, the annual conference focuses on topics that are relevant to biomedical research areas such as health and medicine, energy conversion, and materials processing practices. The next conference is scheduled for 24-26 June 2008 and will be held in Washington, DC, in connection with a ceremony recognizing the winners of the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards. The 2009 conference also will be held in June in Washington, DC. The National Institutes of Health, through the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) supported the 2007 conference. This proposal requests $40,000 for partial support of the 2008 and 2009 conferences ($20,000 in each year). Financial support from NIGMS will allow us to offer reduced registration rates and special programming (a one-day pre-conference workshop and a poster session at the conference) for undergraduate and graduate students attending the conference. The annual conference is the premier event to discuss advances in green chemistry and engineering research. Each year, scientists from academia, government, and industry share the latest results on how chemistry and chemical engineering contribute to a more sustainable future through the design of benign chemicals and chemical processes. Globally, it is the most heavily attended annual conference on green chemistry and engineering. Over the last five years, attendance has grown from 190 in 2003 to 450 in 2007 and the number of unique institutions participating in the event has more than doubled from 115 to 234 over the same time period. About 10% of conference participants reside outside the United States. About 50 undergraduate and graduate students participate in the conference and are eligible to participate in specially designed student programming. The expected outcomes of the conference are to provide an outstanding opportunity for scientists to share ideas and gain an appreciation for the importance of chemistry's contributions to sustainable development. Relevance to Public Health In the broadest sense, green chemistry and engineering approaches improve public health by reducing exposure to hazardous chemicals that can cause disease over their entire life cycle (manufacture, use, and disposal). Rather than using regulatory restrictions to control risk and exposure, green chemistry and engineering approaches focus on chemicals, materials, and processes that are benign by design. In this manner, they provide increased performance and increased value while meeting all goals to protect and enhance human health and the environment.