Students for Green Chemistry hosted its second guest speaker seminar during Cardinal Hour in the auditorium on Wednesday with Dr. Jin Wang, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Baylor College Medicine.
With over 200 students in attendance, Wang discussed how green chemistry can improve the creation of chemical compounds and reduce the environmental impact of chemistry, as well as the direct evolution of enzymes and artificial intelligence’s role in chemistry.
“This was a great opportunity for me to interact with young people. I feel like I’m going back to 25 years ago when I was in high school,” Wang said. “I’m actually surprised by how many people attended.”
According to senior and Operations Manager David Chen, Students for Green Chemistry was created because there wasn’t an outlet for green chemistry at Bellaire.
“We decided to found this organization so we could invite speakers to speak to our school,” David Chen said. “Being green is very important in our world, and we want to stay stable and make sure the environment doesn’t degrade.”
Students for Green Chemistry invited Wang after Executive President Jason Chen discovered him through an internship at the Baylor College of Medicine.
“[Jason Chen] thought Dr. Wang was a really cool guy and his inventions and research were pretty cool,” David Chen said. “So he decided to cold-email Dr. Wang, and he was very receptive.”
A chemist by training, Wang joined the Baylor College of Medicine to establish his own lab in 2011 after his postdoctoral studies in the drug and medicinal field. Throughout his presentation, Wang emphasized the importance of science and the need for students to get involved.
“I hope [students] support science, it’s definitely important,” Wang said. “It’s the driving force for how we change the way we live in the future.”
The same sentiment is shared by David Chen, who hopes his peers have learned about the importance of green chemistry and its implications.
“I hope people become more interested in green chemistry, especially people who are going into the chemistry field as their future occupation, and that they are a bit more mindful about the decisions they make,” David Chen said.
For sophomore Evan Abney, the seminar was interesting, considering some of his personal interest in biology and kept his attention.
“The information was insightful from the standpoint of a worker in the field,” Abney said. “I learned a little bit about the history of Alphafold and its designers as well as the times that the Nobel Prizes for chemistry were given to a green, biological chemistry group.”
Students for Green Chemistry will have another guest speaker in late November or early December. The organization expects to have Dr. Ludovic Gremaud from Switzerland speak to students in a virtual meeting. Gremaud specializes in mechanochemistry, which involves forcing chemical reactions without solvents or catalysts and using natural processes.
“We will also be hosting a green chemistry workshop soon,” David Chen said. “Currently, the materials are being shipped to us from the University of California, Santa Barbara by Dr. Bruce Lipshutz, our previous speaker.”
To learn more about Students for Green Chemistry and future meetings, follow its Instagram @s4gcbhs and visit its website at tinyurl.com/students4gc.