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.
