John Warner, president and CEO of The Technology Greenhouse and co-founder of the field of green chemistry, will present the fifth quadrennial Whitmore Lecture on Chemistry Education and Public Policy at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, June 7, 2024, in 100 Thomas Building on the Penn State University Park campus. The lecture, titled “Green Chemistry: The Missing Elements,” is free and open to the public.
Warner’s lecture will describe the history of green chemistry, a field of science focusing on reducing or eliminating the use of hazardous materials at the design stage of a materials process. He will also discuss opportunities for the next generation of materials designers to create a safer and more sustainable future.
About the lectureship
The Frank Whitmore Lecture on Chemistry Education and Public Policy honors Frank C. Whitmore, dean of the Penn State College of Chemistry and Physics from 1929 until his death in 1947, for his contributions as a teacher, educator and formulator of policy in chemistry education and curriculum reform. The lecture recognizes Whitmore's service to the American Chemical Society, which began in the society’s Central Pennsylvania Section and culminated with his election as American Chemical Society president in 1938. For a decade Whitmore was the de facto public spokesman for chemistry and was one of three chemists who coordinated the organic chemistry war effort in the United States during World War II.