The Green Chemistry Education Challenge Awards
Tackling the Challenge of Preparing the Next Generation Workforce for Sustainable Action
Beyond Benign and Dow have partnered to work towards preparing the next generation workforce for sustainable action through Green Chemistry education. This partnership aligns with Dow’s ‘Safe Materials for a Sustainable Planet’ goal by ensuring our incoming workforce is prepared to design sustainable materials for the marketplace. To achieve this goal, it is imperative that the incoming workforce has the critical skills and training in Green Chemistry education. The Green Chemistry Education Challenges Awards are designed to accelerate the adoption of Green Chemistry in the Chemistry and Engineering departments and drive awareness of Green Chemistry on higher education campuses around the world. The proposal deadline for 2022 is December 30, 2022 at 11:59 PM PT. APPLY NOW!
See the 2021 Green Chemistry Education Challenge Award grant winners here.
Eligibility for 2022 Grants - Proposal Deadline: December 30, 2022
All Beyond Benign Green Chemistry Commitment Signers are eligible to apply for this grant. See Who's Committed here. Grantees can submit applications, prior to signing the commitment, but only those that signed the commitment by December 30, 2022 will have their proposals considered.
This funding call is open to faculty, students, and staff with direct affiliations to Chemistry, Engineering, and/or Science Departments.
Cross-department collaborations are encouraged, but all applications must include at least one Chemistry Department faculty member.
To learn more about Beyond Benign’s Green Chemistry Commitment
The Green Chemistry Education Challenge Awards
To prepare our future workforce for sustainable action (UN SDG 4.7), we must ensure a larger portion of graduating chemists have the skills and the ability to design products and processes with reduced impact on humans and the environment. Due to chemistry being the central science, awareness and implementation are needed within and outside of Chemistry Departments to ensure a sustainable future. The Green Chemistry Education Challenge Award aims to support the integration of green chemistry education into courses and curricula with financial aid to achieve impactful change. Strong applications will work to achieve the following goals:
· Increase the awareness of Green Chemistry and the Green Chemistry Commitment program across the chemistry department and institution.
· Increase awareness of the institution's dedication to Green Chemistry education through conference attendance, webinars, publications, social media campaigns, etc.
· Transforming curriculum and lab procedures to achieve the GCC’s Green Chemistry Student Learning Objectives so all chemistry majors, upon graduation, have proficiency in the following essential green chemistry competencies:
Timeline
The call for challenge proposals is open until December 30, 2022. If you have any questions regarding this funding call, contact natalie_oneil@beyondbenign.org or submit questions below to add to our frequently asked questions list.
December 30, 2022 deadline for submissions from Green Chemistry Commitment signers
January 2 - 13, 2023 review of challenge proposals by Beyond Benign and Dow representatives
January 18, 2023 – Announcement of Green Chemistry Education Challenge Award Winners
Feburary - August 2023 - funded activities, conferences and events for winners
Criteria and Scope
Applications that incorporate the above goals will be weighted favorably. Funding must be used to support the adoption of Green Chemistry curriculum into chemistry courses, laboratories, and/or outreach activities.
Funding Level: Awareness and Outreach
Up to $2,500 dollars will be awarded to 2-4 institutions with achievable challenge proposals given the funding timeline. Projects must be implmented by August 2023.
Examples for Green Chemistry education initiatives at this funding level include but are not limited to:
· Assessment of current chemistry curriculum through departmental self-assessment, followed by implementation of suggested changes from Beyond Benign.
· Support for raising awareness of Green Chemistry on campus through departmental initiatives or student group activities.
· Support of faculty and students' professional development through Green Chemistry learning opportunities.
· Funds to purchase laboratory equipment and supplies for greener approaches within teaching and/or research, examples include but are not limited to: Water-less condensers, solvent recycling systems, water-less rotary evaporator set-ups, etc.
· Curriculum redesign by faculty, or staff with direct affiliations to Chemistry or Engineering departments:
· Creating collaborations between chemistry and engineering departments to integrate green chemistry into the appropriate courses to ensure chemists and engineers have a Green Chemistry skill set.
· Creating collaborations between sustainability departments and or environmental health and safety officer/department and chemistry departments. Explore working in these existing networks to get events and initiatives promoted across campus and beyond.
Selection Process:
The proposals submitted will be reviewed by Beyond Benign’s Green Chemistry Commitment Advisory Board and Higher Education Program Team in addition to Dow representatives for merit along with the likelihood of achieving goals proposed within the funding timeline.
2022 Grant APPLICATION:
frequently asked questions
As question(s) are asked about this funding call we will update this page with commonly asked questions and answers.
Question: Can more than one proposal be submitted per institution?
Answer: Yes, more than one proposal may be submitted, however, the funding committee will determine if more than one proposal will be funding per institution.
Question: Can indirect costs be included in the funding proposal?
Answer: Yes, up to 20% of the budget can be indirect costs.
Use the Google form to the right to submit any question(s) you have about the Green Chemistry Education Challenge Awards.
