Chemistry in Canada formally goes green. (News Briefs/Nouvelles En Bref).

The US-based Green Chemistry Institute has signed a chapter affiliate agreement to formalize the relationship between the Canadian Green Chemistry Chapter and the Green Chemistry Institute. The Green Chemistry Institute is a not-for-profit entity indirectly associated with the American Chemical

Society to support and promote the development, understanding and use of green chemistry for the purpose of protecting human health and the environment. The organization is made of institutions representing all aspects of the chemical enterprise industry, academia non-governmental organizations and government. Participants and partners are located all over the world.

The Canadian Green Chemistry Chapter presently includes researchers from McGill University, Universite de Sherbrooke, Universite de Montreal and INRS-IAF, and is coordinated by Tak Hang (Bill) Chan, FCIC, of Department of Chemistry, McGill University.

The mission of the Canadian Chapter is to promote green chemistry research and education in Canada as well as international collaboration. In terms of research, scientists from the four universities have joined force to collaborate on the following major areas: chemical synthesis using clean solvents, chemical synthesis using renewable energies, clean synthesis using new enzymes through directed evolution, bio-mass conversion and utilization, green chemical processes and study of atmospheric chemistry.

Founding members of the Canadian Green Chemistry Chapters include: chemical engineering professor Esteban Chornet, FCIC and electrochemists Jean Lessard, FCIC and Gregory Jerkiewicz, MCIC from Sherbrooke, microbiologist Claude DuPont from INRS-IAF, biochemist Joelle Pelletier, MCIC from Montreal and, from McGill, Romas Kazlauskas, MCIC, Robert Marchessault, FCIC, Dimitris Argyropoulos, FCIC, Jim Nicell, Parisa Ariya, MCIC and Chan himself. The Chemical Institute of Canada attended the December 2001 meeting of the Chapter in Montreal.

Speaking for the Canadian Chapter, Chan said: "We are pleased with the formation of the Canadian Chapter and the opportunity to work with the Green Chemistry Institute. Within Canada, we will encourage more colleagues from other Canadian universities and industrial enterprises to join the green chemistry effort." A website will be set up shortly by the Canadian Chapter. In the meantime, inquiries can be directed to Chan at tak-hang.chan@mcgill.ca.