Our world is shaped by chemistry. It’s the building block of the materials we surround ourselves with everyday. In this series, Professor of Chemistry, Bhawani Ventakaraman makes the case that chemistry is fundamentally linked to our work as designers. An understanding of chemistry can reshape the way we design. Then, Dr. John Warner, co-founder of Green Chemistry, introduces a new approach to sustainability: chemistry without toxics.
Contributors
Bhawani Venkataraman
Associate Professor of Chemistry, Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, The New School
PhD
Full Bio
Educated as a physical chemist Bhawani Venkataraman’s research is in chemical education and focuses on understanding ways to engage students in learning chemistry, as well as how to effectively communicate basic scientific research to non-scientists on issues such as water quality, air pollution and climate change. Bhawani has written articles that raise awareness of the delicate, life sustaining balance of the earth's atmosphere and that investigate the challenges of ensuring access to safe drinking water for all. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed chemical education journals and she is also involved in developing curricular materials that connect fundamental chemical principles and concepts to environmental issues. She is currently working on a visual, interactive tool to explore the science and societal issues around energy sources. Bhawani received her B.Sc. in Chemistry from St. Xavier’s College, and her M.A., M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Chemistry from Columbia University.
John Warner
President & Chief Technology Officer, The Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry, LLC
Full Bio
John Warner John is a chemistry inventor who works to design and create commercial technologies inspired by nature consistent with the principles of green chemistry. With over 300 patents, he has invented solutions for dozens of multinational corporations. He is one of the cofounders of the field of green chemistry, co-authoring the defining text “Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice” and articulating the 12 principles of green chemistry with Paul Anastas. John has over 100 publications providing foundational work in the fields of noncovalent derivatization, polymer photochemistry, metal oxide semiconductors and synthetic organic chemistry. John has received prestigious awards as an academic (Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Mentoring – President G. W. Bush & NSF, 2004) and the August Wilhelm von Hofmann Medal from the German Chemical Society, 2022), industrial chemist (Perkin Medal – Society of Chemical Industry, 2014), inventor (Lemelson Ambassadorship – Lemelson Foundation & AAAS) and for governmental chemicals policy (Reinventing Government National Performance Review – Vice President A. Gore & EPA, 1997). John received his BS in Chemistry from UMASS Boston, and his PhD in Chemistry from Princeton University. After working at the Polaroid Corporation for nearly a decade, he then served as tenured full professor at UMASS Boston and Lowell (Chemistry and Plastics Engineering).