Title : Greener chemistry for a sustainable future: Transforming chemistry education through systems thinking
Abstract:
How can chemistry education prepare students to address complex sustainability challenges that cannot be solved within disciplinary boundaries? This presentation describes the redesign of Greener Chemistry for a Sustainable Future, an undergraduate elective that evolved over two decades from a traditional lecture-based course into an interdisciplinary, project-based learning experience grounded in green chemistry and systems thinking.
The redesigned course moves students from foundational knowledge of green chemistry toward increasingly complex, systems-based applications. Across five units, students examine green chemistry in everyday life, use System-Oriented Concept Map Extension (SOCME) mapping and life-cycle analysis to explore interconnected chemical and environmental systems, investigate the role of artificial intelligence in sustainable innovation, connect chemistry to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), and apply their knowledge to a sustainability challenge within their campus or local community. Learning activities include case-study development, collaborative discussions, systems mapping, AI-enhanced research, website design, proposal writing, and business-style pitch presentations.
A central goal of the course is to shift students' thinking from asking What is the chemistry? to asking How does this chemistry function within a larger system, and what are the environmental, social, economic, and ethical consequences of different choices? Students therefore examine trade-offs, feedback, life-cycle impacts, and unintended consequences while considering how chemistry can contribute to more sustainable solutions.
The presentation will highlight the pedagogical framework and evolution of the course, provide examples of student projects, and discuss approaches used to assess student learning. Preliminary evidence from student work, grading metrics, and alumni feedback suggests that the interdisciplinary model supports the development of sustainability literacy, critical thinking, and system-based problem-solving skills. The course also illustrates how green chemistry can serve as a bridge between disciplinary scientific knowledge and broader questions of human health, environmental stewardship, ethics, equity, and civic engagement.
This experience demonstrates a model for integrating green chemistry, systems thinking, emerging technologies, and the UN SDGs into undergraduate chemistry education. More broadly, it suggests that transforming chemistry education from a discipline-centered model toward one emphasizing interconnected systems and community-based problem solving can help prepare students to become scientifically informed and socially responsible contributors to a sustainable future.
