Paul Anastas, known widely as the “Father of Green Chemistry” for his groundbreaking research on the design, manufacture, and use of minimally toxic, environmentally friendly chemicals presents “Designing Tomorrow” at Elmhurst College. This lecture is part of the Roland Quest Lecture series.

The event also is the first in a series of “Science Talks” that will take place throughout the academic year at Elmhurst College. Science Talks will explore a wide range of topics, from the history of cancer to the weather of the future that demonstrate the inextricable links between science and daily life.

Anastas is a science advisor to the Environmental Protection Agency and the assistant administrator for the agency’s Office of Research and Development. He has an extensive record of leadership in government, academia, and the private sector.

At the time he was nominated by President Obama to lead the Office of Research and Development, Anastas was director of the Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering, and was the inaugural Teresa and H. John Heinz III Professor in the Practice of Chemistry for the Environment at Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Prior to joining the Yale faculty, Anastas was the founding director of the Green Chemistry Institute, headquartered at the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C.

Anastas began his career as a staff chemist at the EPA, where he rose to the positions of chief of the Industrial Chemistry Branch and director of the U.S. Green Chemistry Program. It was during his time at the EPA when Anastas coined the term “green chemistry.”

Trained as a synthetic organic chemist, Anastas’ research interests have focused on the design of safer chemicals, bio-based polymers, and new methodologies of chemical synthesis that are more efficient and less hazardous to the environment. A leading writer on the subject of sustainability, green chemistry, and green engineering, Anastas has published 10 books, including Benign by Design, Designing Safer Polymers, Green Engineering, and his seminal work with coauthor John Warner, Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice.

The Roland Quest Lecture series was established at Elmhurst College in 1996 and quickly became an enormously popular series. It honors Elmhurst alumnus Roland Quest, class of 1936, a former McDonnell-Douglas engineer who performed design work on the original space shuttle.

Elmhurst College is a leading liberal arts college located eight miles west of Chicago. The College’s mission is to prepare its students for meaningful and ethical work in a multicultural, global society. Approximately 3,400 full- and part-time students are enrolled in its 22 undergraduate academic departments and nine graduate degree programs.

Recorded Thursday, October 6, 2011 at Elmhurst College.