Paul Anastas, the Director of Yale University's Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering and Teresa and H. John Heinz III Professor in the Practice of Chemistry for the Environment, has been selected by President as EPA's Assistant Administrator for Research and Development. He will lead EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD), which is the scientific research arm of EPA.Trained as a synthetic organic chemist, Dr. Anastas is credited with establishing the field of "green chemistry" — a term he coined in 1991 — during his time working for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where he was the chief of the Industrial Chemistry Branch in EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances and director of the U.S. Green Chemistry Program. From 1999 to 2004, during the Clinton administration, he was the assistant director for the environment in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He then served as the founding director of the Green Chemistry Institute, headquartered at the American Chemical Society. While there, he established 24 green chemistry chapters in countries around the world, including China, Ethiopia, India, Japan and South Africa.
Much awesomeness for all of us in the 'Green Chemistry field'.
Kudos Dr. Anastas!
Green chemistry is the study of how to design chemical products and processes in ways that are sustainable and not harmful for humans and the environment. Dr. Anastas spoke about green chemistry at NCSE's 2007 national conference: Integrating Environment and Human Health (linked here).
