Chemical Sciences Roundtable

Webinar

Building Superheroes for 2050: Future Education and Career Paths in the Chemical Sciences

October 29, 2025

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM (ET)

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What will it take to train the chemists and chemical engineers who'll tackle the biggest challenges of 2050? Join moderator Jennifer Heemstra from Washington University and tentative speakers David Laviska (ACS), Kelly Weiler (Manchester Bidwell Corporation), Pamela Leggett-Robinson, and Anthony Palmiotto (OpenStax) for a real conversation about the future of chemistry education and careers. We'll dig into everything from new teaching methods and free textbooks to creating pathways that work for everyone—because solving problems like new medicines and sustainable materials is going to take all of us. Whether you're figuring out your major or already knee-deep in research, this discussion will give you a fresh perspective on where chemistry education is heading and how you fit into that picture.

Contact

Malia Brown

mmbrown@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webcast

Chemistry 2050 | Space

April 14, 2025

12:00 PM - 2:00 PM (ET)

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This year, the CSR will host a series of webinars and a workshop guided by the central theme of Chemistry 2050 across a range of intersectional chemistry topics, exploring how the chemical sciences will journey through the next quarter-of-a-century. This series will provide a forum that anticipates and re-imagines how the discipline could look in the year 2050.

Join us for the first Chemistry 2050 webinar on Monday, April 14, from 12:00pm to 2:00pm which ventures into space chemistry 25 years from now. The webinar will feature a moderated discussion with expert panelists exploring how advances in astrochemistry intersect with our understanding of the origins of solar systems and future space travel missions. Edward Ashton (ICON plc, Mickey7) will moderate a thought provoking discussion between our panelists, Jennifer Bergner (University of California - Berkeley), Jason Dworkin (NASA), and Sara Seager (MIT) and Jennifer Talley (Air Force Office of Scientific Research) which will highlight the formation of planets in tandem with stars, the fundamentals and frontiers of astrochemistry, the observation of biosignatures in the atmospheres of exoplanets, and the methods of exploring our solar system.

Edward Ashton, Senior Director, Medical and Scientific Affairs, ICON plc; Author, Mickey7

Edward Ashton serves as Senior Director for Medical and Scientific Affairs for ICON plc, a global clinical research organization, where he leads the company’s efforts in oncology drug development. In this role, he has directed the conduct of more than 450 human clinical trials over the past twenty-five years. He holds a doctorate in Electrical Engineering with a specialization in medical imaging. His primary research interest is in magnetic resonance imaging. In particular, he has been a leader in the use of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI as a tool for characterizing the tumor microenvironment, and of magnetic resonance elastography for the in vivo assessment of liver fibrosis. He is also the author of six published novels, most prominently including Mickey7, which is the basis for the recently released feature film Mickey 17, directed by Bong Joon-ho (Parasite, Snowpiercer) and starring Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, and Mark Ruffalo. His short fiction has appeared in venues ranging from the newsletter of an Italian sausage company to Analog, Fireside Fiction, and Escape Pod. You can find him online at edwardashton.com.

Jennifer Bergner, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of California - Berkeley

Jenny Bergner is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at UC Berkeley, with joint affiliations in the Department of Astronomy and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. She is an expert in astrochemistry with a focus on understanding how the composition and potential habitability of nascent planets are influenced by the chemistry at play during their formation. In recent years, she has been recognized with the Annie Jump Cannon Award (American Astronomical Society) the Chevron Chair in Chemistry (UC Berkeley), and a Scialog Fellowship (RCSA). She completed her PhD at Harvard, followed by a NASA Sagan Postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago.

Jason Dworkin, Senior Scientist for Astrobiology, Solar System Exploration Division Project Scientist, OSIRIS-REx, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Dr. Jason Dworkin is the Senior Scientist for Astrobiology at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and the Project Scientist for NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission. He is the founder and director of the Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory at GSFC which employs modern analytical methods to examine authentic samples of the early solar system as well as laboratory models of ancient environments. He has 40 years of experience in assessing the organic species available for the origin and early evolution of life with a focus is on understanding the extraterrestrial input and origin of organic molecules relevant for life. This objective has been to study increasingly documented and constrained systems, from plausibly early Earth chemistry, chemistry of astrophysically relevant laboratory ices, organic and chiral analysis of meteorites, to analysis of sample returned material and how to protect that material from contamination. He has received numerous awards for his work with OSIRIS-REx and for science leadership at GSFC. He received an A.B. from Occidental College and a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego both in biochemistry.

Sara Seager, Class of 1941 Professor of Planetary Science, Professor of Physics, Professor of Aerospace Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Professor Sara Seager is an astrophysicist and a Professor of Physics, Professor of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, and the Class of 1941 Chair Professor of Planetary Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is known for her pioneering research on exoplanets and their atmospheres. Her research has introduced many foundational ideas to the field of exoplanets, planets orbiting stars other than the Sun. She is now at the forefront of the search for the first Earth-like exoplanets and signs of life on them. In addition she is pursuing exploration of Venus as a habitable world through laboratory experiments of biochemicals in concentrated sulfuric acid and her leadership of . Professor Seager earned her BSc in Math and Physics from the University of Toronto and her PhD in Astronomy from Harvard University. For her research Professor Seager was awarded a MacArthur “genius” grant, the Kavli Prize in Astrophysics, one of Canada’s highest civilian honors, appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada, membership in the National Academy of Sciences, and has Asteroid 9729 named in her honor. She is the author of, “The Smallest Lights in the Universe: A Memoir”.

Jennifer L. Talley, Program Officer for Life Sciences in Space, Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)

Jennifer L. Talley is a Program Officer of Space Biosciences at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research in Arlington, Virginia. As program officer she discovers, shapes, and supports basic research that will benefit the Air Force (AF), Space Force (SF), and more broadly the Department of Defense (DoD). Dr. Talley became an Air Force civilian researcher in 2011. She was a Senior Research Biological Scientist in the Integrated Seekers and Processing Branch, Guidance Division in the AFRL Munitions Directorate at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Some of her major awards and decorations include: 2023 Research Excellence Award, 2022 Demonstration Award, 2020 Notable Achievement Award, 2019 Special Act of Service Award, 2018 AFOSR Star Team Member, 2017 Outstanding Mentor Award, and 2017 Windows on the World AFOSR Award. In 2019, she was listed as the co-inventor on U. S. Patent No. 11,703,88 for Bio-Hybrid Odor-Localizing Autonomous Air Vehicle. Prior to her current position, Dr. Talley earned a master’s in strategic studies at Air War College in residence, Grand Strategy Seminar, at Air University, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. Dr. Talley received a PhD in Biology from Case Western Reserve University in 2010 and a BS in Mathematics from the University of Arizona in 2003.

Contact

Kayanna Wymbs

kwymbs@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Workshop

Building Access to Tomorrow’s Medicines: bringing together humans, robots, and artificial intelligence - A Workshop

February 20 - 21, 2025

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The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will host a workshop exploring the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in chemical sciences and drug discovery. Sponsored by the Chemical Sciences Roundtable, this event will bring together researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders to examine how AI tools can address data biases and democratize pharmaceutical research, potentially reducing drug development costs down from billions of dollars and decades of work. The workshop will discuss AI's role in expanding research capacity, particularly for rare diseases, while exploring critical challenges such as preventing healthcare disparities and ensuring access to advanced technological resources. Panel discussions and a foresight exercise will feature thought leaders examining the integration of AI, laboratory automation, and robotics to advance the chemical sciences' role in traditional drug discovery.

Workshop Session Panels:

Drug Discovery: "The Future is Now" | This panel will focus on how advanced tools like AI/ML, robotics, and automation are transforming the chemical laboratories to efficiently progress the drug discovery process.
Expanding Access: "Removing the Biases from Drug Discovery" | Discussions will shift to emphasize how investments into the advanced tools used in and the data generated from the drug discovery process contributes collectively to the affordability and availabilty of patient care across a broad spectrum of diseases.
Foresight Activity: "Imagining the Future" (interactive breakout sessions) | Breakout groups plan to have independent discussions on how enhanced efficiency of the drug discovery process can produce potentially meaningful results for the future of practicing medicine that will be later compiled for the workshop and the proceedings-in-brief.
Building the Community: "Out of the Box Success Stories" | Closing this exciting meeting, we will explore on how collaboration between citizen scientists and other relevant groups can contribute to shared responsibilities, open communication, and access to advanced technological resources to maximize innovations in the drug discovery process that facilitate the highest delivery of patient care.

Confirmed Workshop Panelists:

Alexandra Snyder Charen, Executive Vice President and Head of R&D, Generate Biomedicines
Emily Kramer-Golinkoff, Co-Founder, Emily's Entourage
James Li, President, GondolaBio
Jesse Kirkpatrick, Co-Director of the Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center, George Mason University
Lynda Chin, Founder, President and CEO, Apricty Health
Margaret Honey, President & CEO, Scratch Foundation
Nick Davis, Managing Partner, Changer
Nicolò Fusi, General Manager, Microsoft Research
Sanmi Koyejo, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Stanford University
Erran Carmel, Professor, American University
Rob Zellem, Staff Scientist and Astronomer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Laurel Royer, Founder, Carinalis Consulting and Research
Nicola Pohl, Joan & Marvin Carmack Chair - Department of Chemistry, University of Bloomington
Marty Burke, May & Ving Lee Professor for Chemical Innovation, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Andrew White, Associate Professor, University of Rochester

Organizing Project

Building Access to Tomorrow’s Medicines: bringing together humans, robots, and artificial intelligence - A Workshop

Contact

Kayanna Wymbs

(202) 334-3291
KWymbs@nas.edu

Location

Keck Center

500 5th St NW

Washington DC 20001, USA

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

AI + Y 2024 Series | Hosted by the Chemical Sciences Roundtable | AI + Limited Data

November 21, 2024

12:30 PM - 2:00 PM (ET)

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Discussions around how to effectively use and analyze limited datasets to arrive at useful solutions will be the focus of this webinar. Before embarking on those conversations, the speakers will debate how they define “limited” or “small” data including the number of data points and variables considered. Discussions around data quality; trust and interpretability; and their integration into existing big-data workflow will be presented. Finally, speakers will share their strategy for handpicking chemistry problems that could be solved using the “limited data” approach

Speakers:

Carlos Gonzalez (Moderator), Chief of the Chemical Sciences Division; National Institute of Standards and Technology

Carlos Gonzalez has been the Chief of the Chemical Sciences Division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) since 2012. Dr. Gonzalez joined NIST in 1997 as a member of the Computational Chemistry Group within the Physical and Chemical Properties Division. He was appointed to the position of Chief, Chemical and Biochemical Reference Data Division in 2008. Previously, Dr. Gonzalez was a Postdoctoral Scholar at Carnegie Melon University under the mentorship of Prof. John A. Pople, a 1998 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. Dr. Gonzalez received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Wayne State University.

Johannes Hachmann (Panelist), Associate Professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Director, Engineering Science (Data Science Focus) Graduate Program, Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science; University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

Johannes Hachmann is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University at Buffalo (UB), the Director of the Engineering Science (Data Science Focus) graduate program, a Leadership Member of the UB Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, and a Faculty Member of the New York State Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics. He earned a Dipl.-Chem. degree (2004) after undergraduate studies at the universities of Jena and Cambridge, M.Sc. (2007) and Ph.D. (2010) degrees in Chemistry from Cornell University, and he conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard University before joining the UB faculty in 2014. The research of the Hachmann Group fuses (first-principles) molecular and materials modeling with virtual high-throughput screening and modern data science (i.e., the use of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and informatics) to advance a data-driven discovery and rational/inverse design paradigm in the chemical and materials disciplines. One of the centerpieces of the group’s efforts is the creation of an open, general-purpose software ecosystem for the data-driven design of chemical systems and the exploration of chemical space. This work was recognized with a 2018 NSF CAREER Award.

Stephan Mohr (Panelist), Chief Scientific Officer; Nextmol

Stephan Mohr is co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Nextmol. Previously, he worked as as researcher at Barcelona Supercomputing Center (Spain), CEA Grenoble (France) and University of Basel (Switzerland). He holds a PhD in Physics, and is an expert in molecular simulations and chemicals informatics, both with respect to algorithmic developments and applications. Moreover, he has also a large experience in code development and High-Performance Computing. During his career he has authored 27 peer-reviewed papers and has been the principal investigator of several supercomputing projects on Tier-0 supercomputers. He has supervised numerous students and led R&D teams in multidisciplinary and fast-paced environments.

Contact

Kayanna Wymbs

kwymbs@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

AI + Y 2024 Series | Hosted by the Chemical Sciences Roundtable | AI + Scalability

October 3, 2024

12:30 PM - 2:00 PM (ET)

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Join us October 3, 2024 from 12:30-2:00 PM ET for the second installment of the Chemical Sciences Roundtable’s 2024 webinar series on AI topics in the fields of chemistry and chemical engineering where Melanie Mesropian (AIChE) will moderate an interactive conversation between Leo Chiang (Dow Chemical) and Greg Mulholland (Citrine) about what it means to use AI tools sustainably with possible examples ranging from R&D efforts to product manufacturing.

This episode of AI + Scalability seeks to explore at scale efforts across the chemistry and chemical engineering enterprise that successfully employ AI to support the sustainable growth and development of the chemical industry, which emerges from the lab. The chemical industry endeavors to apply AI tools to generate improved energy efficiency, reliability, selectivity, decreased environmental impacts, and safety in industrial chemical processes. AI tools have already been shown to improve processes for chemical engineering but the potential in the digital revolution for the chemical industry is still unfolding. Discussions will include what obtaining these outcomes will require, such as leveraging the existing and potential capabilities of AI, applying them to meet new challenges that arise, and evolving the existing methods, processes, systems, tools, and labor force in the space.

Contact

Kayanna Wymbs

kwymbs@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

AI + Y 2024 Series | Hosted by the Chemical Sciences Roundtable | AI + Sustainable Chemistry

May 22, 2024

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM (ET)

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AI + Sustainable Chemistry

AI's potential in meeting sustainability challenges include improving land and water management; building a circular economy; and mitigating wastes generated through industrial processes. Achieving these outcomes are crucial steps towards a greener future. In the webinar AI + Sustainable Chemistry we will dive into AI’s predictive abilities with some discussion around machine learning and large language models’ role in generating new chemistry and chemical engineering knowledge. We will explore use cases such as applying AI to discover new catalysts, detect oil reservoirs and track greenhouse gas emissions, and even touch on ways to circumvent waste in the R&D process of personal care products and agriculture. But the journey doesn't stop there! We'll also explore the ethical considerations of this powerful union between AI and sustainable chemistry. Join us as we navigate the exciting possibilities and tackle the technical challenges that lie ahead at this unique intersection!

Guest Contributors

Guest Moderator: Sara Cottle, Senior News Editor, Chemical & Engineering News

Sara has experience in journalism, science communication, science education, and environmental documentary filmmaking. She has spent time researching environmental history, with a focus on public lands and ecology in the Southern U.S. Additionally, she's covered topics like international climate change mitigation, and its local and global community impact. She has contributed to Netflix’s ‘Chasing Coral’ and 'The Social Dilemma’, created podcast curricula with the Smithsonian Science Education Center, and curated digital media for CU Boulder’s Environmental Center. She received an Honorable Mention at the Environmental Film Festival in our Nation's Capital for her first debut film, 'Connecting Congaree'.

Guest Commentator: Jake Grace, PhD, Head of High Throughput Experimentation (HTE), Clariant

Dr. Grace's chemical sciences expertise comes from his knowledge of organometallic chemistry and experience with laboratory automation strategies, digitalization solutions, and workflow design and implementation for R&D in the chemical industry. Currently, Jake and the HTE team focus on increasing Clariant's knowledge base through vast data generation in application areas such as oilfield, mining, industrial applications, crop solutions, personal & home care, and healthcare. The HTE team, in collaboration with Clariant's application specialists, data science team and IT department, are engaged in digitalization initiatives through building datasets to enable the use of artificial intelligence to help better serve Clariant’s customers and the planet.

Guest Commentator:Matthew (Matt) Sigman, PhD, Distinguished Professor Chemistry, University of Utah

Dr. Sigman's research integrates the study/development of new chemical reactions with the invention of new data science approaches to reaction interrogation. The Sigman Lab blends physical organic chemistry techniques and data science to develop new reactions with broad applications; from enantioselective synthesis, to energy-related topics, to biologically-inspired reactions. He has been recognized by the University of Utah for his teaching with the Distinguished Teaching Award (2022) and received recognition for his research efforts as well with the ACS Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry (2017).

Disclaimer: The content presented in this broadcast is not intended to represent the formal perspectives or reccomendations of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. All views and opinions expressed herein are solely that of our volunteer guest contributors.

Contact

Kayanna Wymbs

kwymbs@nas.edu

Location

Keck Center

500 5th St NW

Washington DC 20001, USA

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

Open Access and FAIR Data in the Chemical Sciences

August 1, 2023

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM (ET)

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Publishing research is crucial for the scientific community and general public. Journals have provided a convenient source of peer-reviewed literature, which ensures reproducibility and helps inform new research. However, current publication models have barriers due either to paywalls or expensive publishing fees. There are significant opportunities that emerge by broad sharing of research results, including the raw data and meta data generated, and by providing access, readability and interpretation by humans and machines, especially as machine learning and artificial intelligence are rapidly advancing. The 2022 Executive Order to make all federally funded research publicly accessible by 2025 further underscores the need to update commonly used publication models in the chemical sciences. Open Access (OA) publishing and FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability) data guidelines have been widely accepted in the field as solutions to increase the availability of research. Obstacles have hindered widespread implementation of these practices including finding an equitable approach to determining liability for publishing fees and forming data repositories. Large sets of raw data and computer algorithms can also be difficult to standardize across subdisciplines in chemistry. Furthermore, competitive industries, such as pharmaceutical and materials chemistry, present unique challenges to maintaining intellectual property. This webinar will provide an overview of open access publishing and FAIR data principles and discuss challenges and solutions specific to the chemical sciences for equitable implementation.

Contact

Kay Wymbs

kwymbs@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

Chemistry and Food: Safety, Authenticity, and Other Challenges

June 2, 2023

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM (ET)

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Chemists are creating new innovations in food technology to tackle complex challenges in the industry such as ethical and sustainable production and retaining or enhancing nutrition. Advances in artificial fermentation, cellular agriculture, and in-vitro culturing are evolving the needs and concerns of the food production sector. While these innovations have become more commonplace, regulation and testing technologies to protect consumers and inform industry stakeholders have not kept pace. Chemists and chemical engineers offer advanced techniques that can provide molecular information to be applied to food safety and regulation, including insights into nutrition and contamination. This webinar, hosted by the Chemical Sciences Roundtable, will examine the current landscape of synthetic food and cellular agriculture and explore how the chemical sciences can provide insights into the modern food industry.

Contact

Ayanna Lynch

Alynch@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

Sustainable Recycling of Critical Materials in Lithium-ion Batteries

March 2, 2023

3:00 PM - 4:30 PM (ET)

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Lithium-ion batteries are relied on globally for energy storage, the electrification of transportation, and consumer devices. Concerns over the life cycle and span of Li-ion batteries have grown as their use has increased dramatically over the years including raw material extraction and disposal. Production of new batteries is both costly and hazardous, and improper disposal can be detrimental to the environment. Furthermore, spent Li-ion batteries present an untapped opportunity for critical mineral recovery. Improving the efficacy and scale of the chemical recycling of such batteries would contribute to a more circular economy, decrease the need for new mineral extraction, and improve the safety of battery disposal. This webinar, hosted by the Chemical Sciences Roundtable, will provide an overview of the current battery recycling infrastructure, discuss needs and concerns of the industry, and share innovative chemistry research being explored in this space.

Contact

Ayanna Lynch

ALynch@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Workshop

Innovations in Catalysis to Address Modern Challenges - A Workshop

October 24 - 25, 2022

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The chemical sciences and engineering communities are actively pursuing new strategies to reduce the negative impacts of industrial processes. Many of these necessary chemical reactions involve catalytic pathways. Accordingly, a major effort in the manufacturing and chemical industry is developing new catalytic systems and techniques to improve atom efficiency, energy efficiency, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. These strategies center on decreasing use of thermal energy sources and increasing the development of alternative methods for energy delivery. This workshop seeks to explore innovative solutions from a range of perspectives with the potential to make significant improvements in chemical production.

This workshop will feature a session called Vistas in Catalysis. In this session, selected participants will be provided a virtual forum for sharing emerging results from their research in catalysis. The format will be a rapid-fire session with each participant given 3-minutes (strictly enforced) for presentation. Pre-recorded presentations will be required for those attending virtually. Following the session, there will be a breakout session for discussion open to all participants and presenters. The National Academies will recognize presenters in the summary report of the workshop and will make video of the event publicly available. If you are interested in being considered for the Vistas in Catalysis session, please submit a short abstract describing your research here: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6983646/Call-for-Presentations-in-Catalysis-for-a-National-Academies-Workshop

Organizing Project

Innovations in Catalysis to Address Modern Challenges - A Workshop

Contact

Ayanna Lynch

Alynch@nas.edu

Location

National Academy of Sciences Building

2101 Constitution Ave NW

Washington DC 20418, USA

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

Examining Challenges in Scaling Hydrogen Energy

October 7, 2022

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM (ET)

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Hydrogen is emerging as a leading solution to reduce the global carbon footprint. Hydrogen is a unique energy source as it produces water after consumption, as opposed to the carbon-emitting energy sources that have traditionally dominated the energy sector. Applications of hydrogen as an energy source are abundant in the transportation and industrial sectors. However, although hydrogen is the most abundant element on earth, it rarely exists its useful, elemental form. Research efforts are ongoing to develop consistent, cost-effective, and sustainable chemical extraction of hydrogen from a variety of sources. Additionally, recent global interest in decarbonization has called attention to the policy and infrastructure challenges surrounding the use of hydrogen, such as effectively prioritizing which hydrogen sources to employ to balance environmental and economic needs. This webinar, hosted by the Chemical Sciences Roundtable, will discuss research and infrastructure challenges, as well as potential solutions, for the mass implementation of hydrogen as an energy source.

Contact

Ayanna Lynch

Alynch@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

Emerging Development of Biopolymer Synthesis

July 19, 2022

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM (ET)

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Biopolymers, which include proteins, DNA, RNA, polysaccharides, and other naturally-occurring polymer materials, are critical for the sustainability and advancement of many vital fields, such as manufacturing, pharmaceutical science, and biomedical engineering. Chemical synthesis of biopolymers is of increasing interest and importance as the abundance of natural biopolymers decrease, prove unreliable or unsustainable, difficult to purify from allergens, or experience other complications. Many techniques and chemistries for biopolymer synthesis are emerging to address issues like fossil fuel dependence and environmental remediation, heparin and other drug shortages, and energy transformation and storage. Synthetic approaches also expand the breadth and diversity of chemical compositions and functions. This webinar, hosted by the Chemical Sciences Roundtable, will discuss emerging developments in biopolymer synthesis and their future applications and impacts at the commodity scale.

Contact

Ayanna Lynch

alynch@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

Advancing Agricultural Herbicides through Chemistry

May 12, 2022

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM (ET)

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Synthetic chemical herbicides are considered by many to be essential for productive American agriculture. Many farmers rely on the widespread application of herbicides throughout the growing cycle of various crops in order to combat weeds. However, herbicide resistance is a growing problem that is becoming increasingly concerning. Herbicides with new modes of action have been slow to emerge, and some of the most widely applied herbicides today are nearing half a century in use. One current technique to combat resistance is to use mixtures of herbicides with different modes of action, however this is only a short-term solution. New classes of herbicides will be needed in the long term. Several barriers exist to the development and deployment of a new herbicide class, including: high development costs, the length of time needed to develop, test, and secure approval for a new class, as well as evolving weed resistance. This webinar, hosted by the Chemical Sciences Roundtable, will discuss the nature and magnitude of herbicide resistance and explore opportunities and directions needed to better control weeds in agriculture.

Contact

Ayanna Lynch

ALynch@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Workshop

Laboratory Automation and Accelerated Synthesis: Empowering Tomorrow’s Chemist—A Workshop

November 16 - 17, 2021

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About

Automated laboratories can streamline synthetic approaches and molecular discovery at unprecedented levels. As technology improves, one must consider how best to automate the laboratory and train the next-generation chemists, chemical engineers, materials and formulation scientists, and others. This two-day, virtual workshop, hosted by the Chemical Sciences Roundtable, will explore the benefits of laboratory automation and opportunities to make this space more accessible for resource-limited institutions and identify ways to prepare the workforce. Speakers from academia, industry, and government will review current programs and technologies, and pinpoint necessary tools and funding sources needed.

Organizing Project

Laboratory Automation and Accelerated Synthesis: Empowering Tomorrow’s Chemist—A Workshop

Contact

Jessica Wolfman

JWolfman@nas.edu

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It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

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