Jane E. Wissinger

Jane Wissinger received her B.A. from Susquehanna University, M.S. from Georgia Institute of Technology and Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Northwestern University. She was a research scientist at Rohm & Haas Co. for five years before beginning her academic career in 1992 at the University of Minnesota. In 1998, Wissinger was hired as the Organic Chemistry Laboratory Director and continued to instruct organic chemistry lecture courses, an advanced organic chemistry laboratory course, as well as an upper division Green Chemistry course. Wissinger maintained an active research program focused on the development of curriculum materials for the college and high school levels that exemplify modern green chemistry methodology, advances in sustainable polymers, and guided-inquiry pedagogy.

Wissinger was a Senior Principal Investigator in the NSF Center for Sustainable Polymers and passionate about educating students and the public about the need and opportunities for designing better plastics. Though retired from teaching (Aug. 2023), she remains active in promoting green/sustainable chemistry, systems thinking, and the UN SDGs locally and on a national and international level though workshops, publications, and as a symposia organizer. Wissinger’s efforts were recognized with a U of MN Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor award (2014), an ACS-CEI Award for Incorporation of Sustainability in Chemistry Education (2018), the Brasted Award for Excellence in College Teaching (2021), and the inaugural ACS-Green Chemistry Institute Award Career Achievement in Green Chemistry award (2024). Wissinger was named an American Chemical Society (ACS) Fellow in 2023 for her professional achievements and service to the ACS. Wissinger currently serves on the ACS Committee on Environment and Sustainability and the IUPAC Interdivisional Committee on Green Chemistry for Sustainable Development.