A critical assessment of the green credentials of current chemistry lab practicals. One experiment will be chosen and proposed changes will be experimentally tested to evaluate suitability for implementation into the current practical course.
Department: Chemistry
Supervised by: John McKendrick and Jessica Gusthart
This is a stand-alone project based in the area of green chemistry and how these principles can be incorporated into current undergraduate practical chemistry classes. Green chemistry has been developed over many years to produce a set of principles that can be used to guide the design of chemical processes with the aim of reducing waste, conserving energy and reducing the use of hazardous substances. The aim of this research is to critically assess how current undergraduate laboratory classes align with these principles and to identify areas for improvement. In addition, suggested improvements for at least one experiment currently used to teach undergraduates will be applied in a laboratory setting to evaluate the suitability for the implementation of the improved procedure into the taught sessions. The successful candidate will review experiments from a chosen discipline within chemistry (organic/inorganic/physical etc.). They will be expected to both review current literature from chemical education journals and experiments currently taught in the School of Chemistry at Reading and assess how well they align with the principles of green chemistry. The candidate will then identify at least one experiment in the current curriculum and suggest changes as to how the sustainability of that experiment could be improved and how green chemistry principles can be introduced to undergraduate students in a practical setting. They will then perform this experiment in the laboratory to confirm the improvements have the desired outcome and to produce a procedure with the potential for implementation into the practical chemistry curriculum.
Initially the student will have the choice of which area of Chemistry they would like to investigate, for example organic chemistry. Then, during the first half of the placement the student will perform a small scale review of the literature to identify practical experiments currently used in undergraduate teaching and assess how these align with green chemistry principles. They will also be provided with the experiments that are currently taught in the University of Reading's School of Chemistry so that these too can be assessed against the same criteria. Towards the end of the first half of the placement, the student will suggest improvements that can be made to one or more of the practical experiments they have identified in their research. In the latter half of the placement, these improvements will then be performed in the laboratory to ensure they have the desired effect and that undergraduate students would be able to perform the experiment suggested changes. A new laboratory procedure and lab script can then be designed with the aim of incorporating this into the relevant current practical chemistry module.
Candidates should be self-motivated, be willing and able to attend regular informal progress meetings and have good time management and organisational skills. They should be familiar with literature searching techniques as well as having practical chemistry experience. It is desirable, though not essential, for the candidate to show an interest in chemical education and/or sustainability.
The skills developed in this project will include the ability to critically assess the literature, identify areas in need of improvement and then suggest ways in which to do this, all a key part of research. Developing these ideas and putting their own suggestions into practise experimentally will also improve desirable practical research skills such as data analysis and problem solving. The student will also get to develop skills related to designing educational activities, such as assessing suitability of the experiment for less experienced undergraduate chemists and how to introduce new content (green chemistry principles) to students in an engaging manner. If the implementation of the suggested improvements prove successful, there may be the possibility to submit a paper for publication in a journal relating to chemical education, on which the student would be a contributing author.
Depending on the COVID-19 situation, literature searching may be done at home if necessary but ideally will be performed on campus in the Chemistry and Pharmacy building in the office space available for undergraduates.
9-5, 5 days a week but can be flexible
Monday 21 June 2021 - Saturday 31 July 2021
The post will be advertised centrally on the UROP website between 22nd February and 9th April 2021. Students should submit their CV and Cover Letter directly to the Project Supervisor (click on supervisor name at the top of the page for email). Successful candidates will be invited for an interview.