Princeton ACS Meeting Announcement

Abstract

The traditional construction of materials is usually driven by classical synthetic transformations involving the making and breaking of covalent bonds. These processes often require high-energy input and highly reactive and hazardous materials. In natural systems, one typically encounters synthetic control schemes that are based on entropic forces rather than these human designed enthalpic manipulations. In natural processes, phase changes and triggered mixing are often employed to direct systems towards or away from equilibrium conditions. The recognition of these "natural tendencies" allows one to design processes that have reduced toxicological and environmental impact. This presentation will provide a general introduction to Green Chemistry and describe results in non-covalent derivatization and bioinspired photopolymers that illustrate this shift towards entropic control.
 

Biography

John Warner received his MS (1986) and PhD (1988) in Organic Chemistry from Princeton University. He worked at the Polaroid Corporation from 1988 – 1997 in exploratory research and media research. In 1997 he accepted a position at the University of Massachusetts (Chemistry, Boston Campus, 1997-2004 and Plastics Engineering, Lowell Campus, 2004-2007). John is now President and Chief Technology Officer of the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry and the Beyond Benign Foundation. He has published over 150 patents, papers and books and is co-author of Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice. His recent patents in the fields of semiconductor design, biodegradable plastics, personal care products and polymeric photoresists are examples of how green chemistry principles can be immediately incorporated into commercially relevant applications. Warner is editor of Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews and associate editor of the journal Organic Preparations and Procedures International. Warner serves on the Board of Directors of the Green Chemistry Institute in Washington DC. He received The 2004 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Mentoring from President Bush, the American Institute of Chemistry's Northeast Division's Distinguished Chemist of the Year for 2002 and the Council of Science Society President’s 2008 Leadership award. Warner was named by ICIS as one of the most influential people impacting the global chemical industries in 2008.
 

Reservations: The meeting will be held in the Friend Center Auditorium, Princeton University, which is located on the corner of Washington Road and Olden St. Following the seminar, dinner will be held in the Friend Center Convocation Room. The seminar is free and open to the public. Reservations are required for dinner, which is $20 for members and $10 for students. All reservations will be billed, for the section pays on the number of reservations, not the number of attendees.  Please contact Denise D’Auria at denised@princeton.edu or (609) 258-5202 or by Wednesday, January 6 to make or cancel reservations.