Teaching green chemistry. Third-year-level module and beyond*
Colin L. Raston and Janet L. Scott
Centre for Green Chemistry, P.O. Box 23, Monash University,
Melbourne 3800, Victoria, Australia
Abstract: Teaching green chemistry at Monash University started
in earnest in 1999 with the launch of a 12-lecture final year undergraduate
course. The course was designed to introduce students to the field of
green chemistry. The students had no prior knowledge of the field or
indeed what green chemistry meant. The course covered a definition of
green chemistry, historical issues, and challenges, together with an
introduction to the principles and tools of green chemistry, evaluating
the effects of chemistry and technology, general areas of green chemistry,
and presenting examples of successful and developing green chemistry
technologies. Several general references were used, although specific
examples were from the primary literature. Another feature of the course
was the analysis of recent papers. In addition, experiments linking
into the course have been developed, and there are plans for postgraduate
training, professional development, and community outreach involving
postgraduate candidates.
*Lecture presented at the IUPAC CHEMRAWN
XIV Conference on Green Chemistry:Toward Environmentally Benign Processes
and Products, Boulder,Colorado, USA, 9-13 June 2001. Other presentations
are published in this issue, pp.1229 1330.