Towards a Sustainable Future: Challenges and Opportunities for Early-Career Chemists

Emiel Dobbelaar^{1

2}, Shaimaa S Goher³, Juliana L Vidal⁴, Nimrat K Obhi⁴, Bren M B Felisilda⁵, Yvonne S L Choo⁶, Hossny Ismail⁷, Hooi Ling Lee⁸, Vanessa Nascimento⁹, Ramia Al Bakain¹⁰, Muhandiramge Ranasinghe¹¹, Bianca L Davids¹², Arish Naim^{13

14}, Nnanake-Abasi Offiong¹⁵, João Borges¹⁶, Torsten John^{17

18}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität (RPTU) Kaiserslautern-Landau, Erwin-Schrödinger-Str. 52-54, 67663, Kaiserslautern, Germany.
² Current address, Freudenberg Technology Innovation SE & Co. KG, Höhnerweg 2-4, 69469, Weinheim, Germany.
³ Nanotechnology Research Centre (NTRC), The British University in Egypt (BUE), Cairo, 1183, Egypt.
⁴ Beyond Benign, Wilmington, MA 01887, USA.
⁵ Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, Warsaw, Poland.
⁶ School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University Malaysia, Sepang, 43900, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
⁷ Dow Inc., Dow Egypt Services Limited, Katameya Heights Business Centre -, Office G01, Fifth Settlement, New Cairo, Egypt.
⁸ School of Chemical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Gelugor, 11800, Penang, Malaysia.
⁹ SupraSelen Laboratory, Department of Organic Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Campus do Valonguinho, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, 24020-141, Brazil.
¹⁰ Department of Chemistry, School of Science, The University of Jordan, Amman, 11942, Jordan.
¹¹ Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science, School of Natural Sciences-Chemistry, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, 7001, Australia.
¹² School of Chemistry, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2050, South Africa.
¹³ Department of Industrial Chemistry, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh 202002, India.
¹⁴ Current address: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Chemical Sciences, Topfaith University, Mkpatak, Nigeria.
¹⁶ CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal.
¹⁷ Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
¹⁸ Current address, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128, Mainz, Germany.

PMID: 39046086
DOI: 10.1002/anie.202319892

Towards a Sustainable Future: Challenges and Opportunities for Early-Career Chemists

Emiel Dobbelaar et al. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2024.

. 2024 Aug 26;63(35):e202319892.

doi: 10.1002/anie.202319892. Epub 2024 Jul 24.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität (RPTU) Kaiserslautern-Landau, Erwin-Schrödinger-Str. 52-54, 67663, Kaiserslautern, Germany.
² Current address, Freudenberg Technology Innovation SE & Co. KG, Höhnerweg 2-4, 69469, Weinheim, Germany.
³ Nanotechnology Research Centre (NTRC), The British University in Egypt (BUE), Cairo, 1183, Egypt.
⁴ Beyond Benign, Wilmington, MA 01887, USA.
⁵ Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, Warsaw, Poland.
⁶ School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University Malaysia, Sepang, 43900, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
⁷ Dow Inc., Dow Egypt Services Limited, Katameya Heights Business Centre -, Office G01, Fifth Settlement, New Cairo, Egypt.
⁸ School of Chemical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Gelugor, 11800, Penang, Malaysia.
⁹ SupraSelen Laboratory, Department of Organic Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Campus do Valonguinho, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, 24020-141, Brazil.
¹⁰ Department of Chemistry, School of Science, The University of Jordan, Amman, 11942, Jordan.
¹¹ Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science, School of Natural Sciences-Chemistry, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, 7001, Australia.
¹² School of Chemistry, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2050, South Africa.
¹³ Department of Industrial Chemistry, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh 202002, India.
¹⁴ Current address: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Chemical Sciences, Topfaith University, Mkpatak, Nigeria.
¹⁶ CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal.
¹⁷ Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
¹⁸ Current address, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128, Mainz, Germany.

PMID: 39046086
DOI: 10.1002/anie.202319892

Abstract

The concepts of sustainability and sustainable chemistry have attracted increasing attention in recent years, being of great importance to the younger generation. In this Viewpoint Article, we share how early-career chemists can contribute to the sustainable transformation of their discipline. We identify ways in which they can engage to catalyse action for change. This article does not attempt to answer questions about the most promising or pressing areas driving research and chemical innovation in the context of sustainability. Instead, we want to inspire and engage early-career chemists in pursuing sustainable actions by showcasing opportunities in education, outreach and policymaking, research culture and publishing, while highlighting existing challenges and the complexity of the topic. We want to empower early-career chemists by providing resources and ideas for engagement for a sustainable future globally. While the article focuses on students and early-career chemists, it provides insights to further stimulate the engagement of scientists from diverse backgrounds.

Keywords: early-career chemists; education; green chemistry; sustainability; sustainable chemistry.

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References

1. United Nations Brundtland Commission, Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future 1987
1. United Nations, 70/1 Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015, New York City, United States of America, 2015.
1. United Nations, The Sustainable Development Goals Report, United Nations Statistics Division Development Data and Outreach Branch, New York City, United States of America, 2021.
1. D. Cole-Hamilton, Chem. Eur. J. 2020, 26, 1894.
1. J. Richter, E. Dobbelaar, Chem. Int. 2022, 44, 6.

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Towards a Sustainable Future: Challenges and Opportunities for Early-Career Chemists

Affiliations

Towards a Sustainable Future: Challenges and Opportunities for Early-Career Chemists

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

References

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources