10/24/2024
By Brooke Coupal

John Warner shared an important message with students at the inaugural Department of Chemistry Research Symposium.

“(It takes) someone like you in the lab, creating the technology, so hundreds of thousands of people you will never meet are no longer exposed to hazardous materials,” he said.

This sentiment is the backbone of green chemistry, a field founded by Warner and Paul Anastas nearly 30 years ago. Warner and Anastas’ book, “Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice,” outlines 12 principles of green chemistry, which “reduces or eliminates the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and application of chemical products.”

“Green chemistry is on the rise,” said Amy Cannon, who received the world’s first Ph.D. in green chemistry from UMass Boston. “Now more than ever, we need scientists with these (green chemistry) skills.”

UMass Lowell is producing green chemists through its revamped sustainable chemistry Ph.D. program, a recently added sustainability specialization in the chemistry master’s program and a new sustainability option for undergraduate chemistry majors. 

“We have focused on developing these programs to teach our students how to make the world a more sustainable place,” says Suri Iyer, chair of the Department of Chemistry.

The department’s inaugural symposium highlighted the research of UMass Lowell professors and students who are contributing to sustainable practices in chemistry through projects that include filtering toxic chemicals from water and reducing the amount of plastic in landfills.

More than 50 people in attendance also heard from researchers outside of the university, including Ariel Furst, a chemical engineering professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and industry professionals from companies including Novartis (pharmaceutical) and MilliporeSigma (biotechnology).

For chemistry senior Samantha Silva, hearing from the presenters “reignited my passion for green chemistry.”

The Chemistry Graduate Student Steering Committee organized the inaugural research symposium.

“Many of the speakers not only have a closeness to the university but have also gone out and done big things,” said sustainable chemistry Ph.D. student Dylan Shuster, who spearheads the committee. “We wanted to show the students at UMass Lowell that they too can have a huge impact on the world.”

Warner, who gave the opening keynote address, graduated from UMass Boston with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and eventually went on to teach there and at UMass Lowell. Using the principles of green chemistry, he has invented solutions for dozens of multinational corporations and currently holds more than 350 patents. His inventions have served as the basis for several new companies, including Collaborative Medicinal Development (ALS therapy) and Hairprint (hair color restoration). Warner also founded the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry in Lowell with Jim Babcock and Beyond Benign, a nonprofit organization dedicated to sustainability and green chemistry education, with Cannon.

“What’s making green chemistry happen isn’t me; it’s the army of people doing green chemistry, like here at UMass Lowell. That’s changing the world.” -John Warner

“What’s making green chemistry happen isn’t me; it’s the army of people doing green chemistry, like here at UMass Lowell,” he said during his keynote. “That’s changing the world.”

These words stuck with chemistry master’s student Sarah Dawes ’24, who aspires to work for a company with a strong focus on sustainability.

“John Warner went to a UMass school, and it makes me think that students like me can also make a difference in making chemistry green,” she says.