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The ACS Summer School on Green Chemistry and Sustainable Energy was held at McGill University in Montréal, Québec, Canada, June 26-July 3, 2011.  Fifty-four graduate students and postdoctoral scholars from the U.S., Canada, and Latin America participated in the 2011 program.  The fifty-four participants were selected from 90 applicants to the 2011 program.  Applicants submitted a curriculum vitae, unofficial transcript of graduate courses, letter of nomination from a faculty member, and a one-page essay describing the candidate’s interest in green chemistry and sustainable energy.  In addition to the generous support provided by the ACS Petroleum Research Fund, Sigma-Aldrich donated the chemicals used during the laboratory experiments.

Experts in green chemistry and sustainable energy presented lectures on a variety of topics, including greener fossil fuels, oil sands, polyolefins, hydrogen storage, and greener solvents.  Summer School instructors included:

Tom Baker, University of Ottawa

Eric Beckman, University of Pittsburgh

Joan Brennecke, University of Notre Dame

Askar Fahr, ACS Petroleum Research Fund

Murray Gray, University of Alberta

Philip Jessop, Queen’s University

Mary Kirchhoff, American Chemical Society

Bruce Lennox, McGill University

CJ Li, McGill University

Audrey Moores, McGill University

Bob Peoples, ACS Green Chemistry Institute®

Don Schulz, ExxonMobil

Student groups learned the importance of metrics as they assessed alternate routes to the same target molecule in order to determine the greenest synthesis.  Students presented their analysis to the entire group, using metrics such as bioaccumulation, ozone depletion potential, global warming potential, and persistence.  Participants conducted experiments that represented greener alternatives to traditional labs, including the CO₂ extraction of D-limonene from orange rind; the synthesis of divanillin; a solventless aldol condensation; and a series of Diels-Alder reactions conducted in different solvents.

Poster sessions provided an additional opportunity for students to share their research and gain insights into greener approaches to research.  The final session of the Summer School was a proposal writing workshop presented by Dr. Askar Fahr of the ACS Petroleum Research Fund.  One student noted that the workshop provided “valuable insight into the intimidating world of obtaining independent funding.”  The schedule for the Summer School on Green Chemistry and Sustainable Energy, along with a list of the posters presented, is included in this report.

Summer School participants completed a survey at the end of the program, and the students overwhelmingly rated the content of the program as “satisfactory”, as opposed to “too easy” or “too hard”.  In response to the statement, “The best thing about the course was…”, students offered the following observations:

• Meeting people from different universities and countries as well as having the opportunity to interact with the speakers.
• Learned new concepts and the challenging tasks that need to be addressed in future research.
• The best most useful part of the course was the interaction with other students during the poster sessions and during our (limited) free time.
• I really enjoyed meeting people and received excellent lectures. Very good and organized and I received the good fundamentals and tools to make greener my research as well to think in how I can improve and write proposals to help my community.

Students provided suggestions for improving the program, such as including more industrial speakers and providing homework assignments in advance of the Summer School.  Participants also suggested topics, such as solar cell technology, enzymatic reactions, and green polymer synthesis, for future Summer Schools.

Transportation, housing, and meal expenses were higher than usual for the Summer School given the location in Montréal.  The total cost of the 2011 program was

$112,328.06. $100,000 of these costs was charged to PRF, with the remaining costs allocated to funds remaining from previous programs.
Student and instructor transportation	$51,355.15
Student housing	$23,049.68
Instructor housing	$ 9,313.00
Student meals	$16,282.17
Total	$100,000