New Lead Campus in Green Materials Gets Underway

by Oladele Ogunseitan, Green Materials Lead Campus Director

Oladele Ogunseitan directs the new TSR&TP lead campus in Green Materials at UC Irvine

Three UC campuses at Irvine, Davis, and Riverside (UC-IDR) joined forces to establish the lead campus component on Research and Education in Green Materials (REGM) in July 2008. The interdisciplinary program was initiated with more than 15 faculty members representing various academic departments, including toxicology, materials science, environmental engineering, public health, environmental policy, planning, and economics. There are, of course, many more faculty members, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers across the UC system who are experts on topics related to the mission of REGM. They are all invited to participate fully to maintain California's leadership in this increasingly important topic at the national and international levels.

The societal strive toward "green" consumer products builds upon established strategies for pollution prevention to reduce toxicity risks posed to human health and the environment. The strategy of "green materials" encompasses comparative life cycle assessments to generate quantitative inputs for alternative materials selection, environmentally benign manufacturing, end-of-life considerations, and consumer behavior to minimize exposures. Since the inception of REGM, we have seen numerous controversies erupt at the national level this year over scientific uncertainties and regulatory ambiguities surrounding certain chemicals such as bisphenol-A in consumer plycarbonate plastics, and halogenated flame retardants in electronics and other household products, . The directors of REGM are committed to supporting cutting-edge research to characterize the toxicity associated with such large volume chemicals used in consumer products; to sponsor innovative educational programs that bridge the knowledge gaps between toxicology, chemistry, engineering, materials science and public policy; and to serve as the academic resource center for green materials. Rapid progress is being made to implement REGM program objectives:

• A user-friendly dedicated website has been established for documenting and announcing REGM activities.


• The first graduate research fellowship has been awarded for a project on the development of alternatives to allylation and alkylation chemical reactions and synthesis methods that minimize the use of toxic raw materials and production of toxic waste.


• On November 10th, 2008, REGM co-sponsored a symposium on Green Chemistry and Environmental Health held at the Beckman Center of the National Academy of Sciences in Irvine, California.


• A graduate course in "Green Engineering" will be offered during Winter 2009, on Wednesdays from 1:00-1:50 pm, and Fridays from 1:00-2:50 pm. The course will be hosted by UC Davis, but arrangements are being made to make facilitate the participation of students on other campuses through the use of smart classrooms and video-conferencing.

With these primers in place, REGM looks forward to a productive year of vigorous interactions within the UC system, acknowledging available opportunities at campuses outside the UC-IDR core (for example, the semester-long Green Chemistry and Sustainable Design seminar currently being offered at Berkeley.. We also look forward to reaching out toward exciting new policy developments within the state, including California's Green Chemistry Initiative.

We welcome your participation.

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