With heightened environmental awareness, modern chemical research and development have increasingly focused on the discovery of methods for environmentally benign chemical synthesis and processing ("Green Chemistry"). This project continues the development of "Green Chemistry" educational materials featuring protocols for environmentally benign experiments that are being integrated into the large-enrollment undergraduate organic chemistry curriculum. The text, "Green Organic Chemistry: Strategies, Tools, and Laboratory Experiments," resulting from prior NSF support, features 19 experiments with discussions of health and environmental issues and a series of papers in international journals promote wide adoption of green chemistry. With extensive involvement of undergraduate and graduate students, twenty additional experiments incorporating the essentials of practical organic chemistry are being devised and tested and will be incorporated into the next edition of the text. These and other complementary materials are being disseminated internationally through multiple vehicles, such as at Green Chemistry in Education Workshops (GCEW) that are continuing to be offered for teachers from all levels of educational institutions (K-12, community college, four-year college, and university), presentations at meetings, and a Web-centered database. In addition, existing networks are being utilized, including the University of California/Berkeley's Multi-Initiative Dissemination (MID+) project and the Center for Workshops in the Chemical Sciences (CWCS) groups. To target faculty at R-1 institutions, presentations are being made at regional and/or national meetings of chemistry department heads. The experiments do not require expensive laboratory infrastructure and thus are accessible to a wide variety of situations, including high schools and under-equipped colleges. An advisory panel of experts is in place and the evaluation of materials is being assisted through collaborative arrangements with other institutions. The project is funded by the Division of Undergraduate Education within the Directorate for Education and Human Resources.
