Green Chemistry Summer School Presenter Biographies

Eric Beckman

Eric Beckman joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh in 1989. Before coming to Pitt, Eric held a postdoctoral research appointment at Battelle's Pacific Northwest Laboratory. He previously held industrial positions at Monsanto Plastics & Resins and in Union Carbide's Silicones and Urethanes Intermediates Division. His research encompasses two major areas: the use of carbon dioxide as either a solvent or raw material, and polymer chemistry and processing. Eric holds a Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Massachusetts.

Bill Carroll

William F. Carroll, Jr., is currently Vice President, Chlorovinyl Issues, for OxyChem and works on public policy issues and communications related to chlorine and PVC. He is also Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN, where he teaches polymer chemistry. He has over 45 publications in the fields of organic electrochemistry, polymer chemistry, combustion chemistry and physics, incineration, plastics recycling, and chlorine issues. Bill is a Past President (2005) of the American Chemical Society and currently serves on the ACS Board of Directors. He holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Indiana University.

Reuben Collins

Reuben Collins is a member of the physics faculty at the Colorado School of Mines. Prior to coming to Mines, he was a member of IBM's Research Division, and his approach to physics research has been strongly shaped by his time in industry. Reuben’s research activities primarily involve investigations of the electronic and optical properties of novel materials systems and device structures. His group's research projects extend from the physics of novel nanostructures and the materials science of polycrystalline thin-film semiconductors to the development of novel characterization techniques to study these systems.

Scott Crowley

Scott Cowley has been at the Colorado School of Mines in the Department of Chemistry since 1979. His current research interest is reaction chemistry at solid surfaces as applied to: 1) heterogeneous catalysis, which addresses a broad range of refining, automotive, aerospace, chemical detection, and environmental problems; 2) electrophotography, as related to laser printers and photocopier technology; and 3) surface analysis, as related to catalysis, sorption, corrosion, and surface chemistry. Scott received a Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University in Physical Organic Chemistry and held a postdoctoral position at the University of Utah in Catalysis.

Berkeley Cue

Buzz Cue is the founder of BWC Pharma Consulting, LLC. He spent almost 29 years at Pfizer, where he was most recently responsible for the departments (Analytical R&D, Bio Process R&D, Chemical R&D, Pharmaceutical R&D, Regulatory CMC & Quality Assurance and Pharmaceutical Sciences Business Operations) that comprise Pharmaceutical Sciences at their Groton R&D site. Buzz holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Alabama. He is currently a member of the ACS Green Chemistry Institute Governing Board.

Andy Herring

Research in Andy Herring’s group is generally in the area of energy with an emphasis on renewable energy. His work is at the interface of materials science and chemical engineering. Most of the group’s work is collaborative in nature and the majority with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Research falls into two sub-groups: electrochemical and photoelectrochemical engineering and thermochemical conversion of hydrocarbons. Andy holds a Ph.D. from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, and he conducted postdoctoral research at the California Institute of Technology.

Jim Hutchison

Jim Hutchison has been at the University of Oregon since 1994. He is the Founding Director of the ONAMI Safer Nanomaterials and Nanomanufacturing Initiative and Director of the Materials Science Institute. The Hutchison lab focuses on molecular-level design and synthesis of functional surface coatings and nanomaterials. Structures are designed to exhibit a desired function and the efficacy of the new materials is tested for specific applications (such as electronic and optical devices, catalysts, and sensors). Designs for new processes and materials draw heavily on the principles of environmentally-friendly or green chemistry. Jim earned his Ph.D. at Stanford University and was a postdoc at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Phillip Jessop

Phillip Jessop is Canada Research Chair of Green Chemistry at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. In 2009, he received the NSERC John C. Polanyi Award. He is the co-author with Walter Leitner of Chemical Synthesis using Supercritical Fluids. Philip holds a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of British Columbia and served in a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Toronto. He worked for the Research Development Corporation of Japan under the guidance of Ryoji Noyori, winner of the Nobel Prize in 2001.

George John

George John joined the City College of the City University of New York as an Associate Professor of Chemistry in September 2004. Major goals of his current research include construction of nanostructured organic materials (vesicles, helices, tubes, and gel systems) for bionanotechnology applications, understanding growth mechanisms of nanostructures and designing new structures, and multifunctional nanocomposites. George received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Kerala, India, and performed postdoctoral work at the University of Twente, The Netherlands.

Mary Kirchhoff

Mary Kirchhoff is the Director of the American Chemical Society Education Division. She served as assistant director for special projects in the Education Division and was previously assistant director of the ACS Green Chemistry Institute. Prior to joining ACS, she worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and was an associate professor of chemistry at Trinity College in Washington, D.C. Mary is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of New Hampshire.

Roger McFadden

Roger Mc Fadden is the Chief Science Officer and Vice President of Product and Business Development for Corporate Express, a Staples company. Roger is a charter member of the Green Chemistry Commerce Council (GC3) and currently chairs a committee to advance Green Chemistry and the EPA Design for the Environment (DfE) Formulator Initiatives. He is the leader in the development of the Sustainable Earth^® product line. He chose to formulate Sustainable Earth ingredients from milk, soybeans, citrus fruits, and hydrogen peroxide, all of which are healthier for people and have less of an environmental impact.

Ryan Richards

Ryan Richards is an Associate Professor in the Chemistry and Geochemistry Department at the Colorado School of Mines. His research area: preparation and characterization of novel nanoscale materials, heterogeneous catalysis, in situ spectroscopy, environmental and alternative energy technologies. He has authored a book and has written numerous publications.

John Turner

John Turner is a Research Fellow at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. He received his Ph.D. from Colorado State University and completed a postdoctoral appointment at the California Institute of Technology before joining the Laboratory in 1979. His research is primarily concerned with enabling technologies for the implementation of hydrogen systems into the energy infrastructure. This includes direct conversion (photoelectrolysis) systems for hydrogen production from sunlight and water, materials for advanced fuel cell membranes, and corrosion protection for fuel cell metal bipolar plates. He is the author or co-author of over 120 peer-reviewed publications in the areas of photoelectrochemistry, fuel cells, batteries, general electrochemistry and analytical chemistry.

Kent Voorhees

Kent Voorhees is a Professor in the Chemistry and Geochemistry Department at the Colorado School of Mines. He is the author of more than 125 peer-reviewed papers. He has edited one book and holds six patents. Kent is the editor of the Journal of Analytical & Applied Pyrolysis. He is the founder of Petrex Inc., a geochemical exploration company, and MicroPhage Inc., a biomedical diagnostic company. He is a current member of the ACS Board of Directors. Kent earned his Ph.D. at Utah State University.

John Warner

John Warner is President and Chief Technology Officer of the Warner-Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry. He worked at the Polaroid Corporation for nine years before moving to University of Massachusetts- Boston where he started the world's first Green Chemistry Ph.D. program. He then moved to the University of Massachusetts-Lowell where he directed a large research group working on a diverse set of projects involving green chemistry using principles of crystal engineering, molecular recognition, and self assembly. John received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Princeton University. He serves on the Board of Directors of the ACS Green Chemistry Institute.

Kim Williams

Kim Williams is an Associate Professor in the Chemistry and Geochemistry Department at the Colorado School of Mines. Her areas of research include separation and characterization of polymers, nanoparticles, supramolecular assemblies, cells, and membranes using field-flow fractionation, liquid chromatography, light scattering, single particle counting, and MALDI TOF mass spectrometry. Kim earned her Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry at Michigan State University and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Utah.