John C. Warner, honorary professor and the scientist who gave his name to the Chemical Invention Factory at TU Berlin, discusses the concept of green chemistry and his work for our university
Professor Dr. John C. Warner began studying music at the University of Massachusetts. The early death of a fellow band member led him to switch to chemistry and he would go on to develop an anti-cancer drug at Princeton University. As a researcher at Polaroid, he came into contact with Paul Anastas, a friend from his youth, who was now working for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Together, they wrote the standard work “Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice.” As a professor at the University of Massachusetts he established the first doctoral program in green chemistry. He later married the program’s first female student Amy Cannon. With investor Jim Babcock, he founded the Warner-Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry and with his wife he established the educational organization “Beyond Benign.” John Warner has been honorary professor at TU Berlin since 2021. Due to the restrictions arising from the coronavirus, it was only possible to officially award his certificate in September.
OK, but why are natural substances on average more harmless?
Because every substance in nature has had to prove itself in countless life cycles over millions of years. A substance that has just emerged from a beaker in a laboratory has not gone through this selection process in terms of its compatibility with life. Modern chemistry has been around for about 250 years, natural cycles for 3.8 billion years. Guess who has the bigger textbook?
Cycles also play a big role in green chemistry.
On the one hand, yes. This is not just restricted to the recycling cycle that we are all familiar with, where the chemical composition remains the same and only the form changes, for example when I make bags out of plastic bottles. There is also a metabolism of materials, as I call it, where the form and composition change. For example, when biodegradable materials decompose. There are many such cycles and it is very instructive to study them. At the same time, we must always be aware that this is only part of the whole and our current state of knowledge. A cycle includes something - and always also excludes something.
Up to 10 Million Euros for Green Chemistry
Up to 10 million euros are being made available to a consortium of 29 partners via the “T!Raum – TransferRäume für die Zukunft von Regionen” program to fund the GreenCHEM concept for developing the Berlin metropolitan region into an international hotspot for deep-tech innovation in chemistry. The program was initiated by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Nationally, 115 consortia applied, and twelve initiatives have now been awarded funding for a maximum of nine years. The initial GreenCHEM partners are Technische Universität Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin as well as the companies BERLIN-CHEMIE AG and Covestro AG. Although the region is a leading location for outstanding basic research in chemistry, it is yet to fulfill its potential in the area of transfer. Through GreenCHEM the partners wish to bring together the existing infrastructure and know-how to enable quicker and more frequent sustainable innovations from initial experiments through to industrial production and from the idea through to its realization. The formation of the consortium creates a critical mass for the first time. Together with start-up-oriented teaching, social dialog and students as the next generation with new ideas, this will have a pull effect on people and companies to realize innovations in green chemistry for the benefit of the planet. “We want to use the start-up funding to build a financially self-sustaining ecosystem equipped with effective financing modules for international technology transfer and spin-off teams,” says Martin Rahmel, managing director of the Chemical Invention Factory at TU Berlin and coordinator of the GreenCHEM consortium.
Press release of 6 October 2022: Berlin Set to Become a Transfer Region for Green Chemistry
