Terence Collins adresses sustainability and encourages actions towards it.

Terence Collins, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Institute for Green Science and known for his pioneering in “green chemistry”, gave the lecture “Green Chemistry: Setting the Compass Toward a Sustainable Future” on Friday April 6 at 5 p.m. in the ATSH.

Prior the lecture there were technical difficulties in the assigned lecture theatre therefore the seminar had to be moved into a different room but this didn’t ruin the mood of the audience and they approached the room enthusiastic to learn more about sustainability.

Collins started by identifying the term sustainability according to the chemists. He stressed the importance of sustainability for the future and how currently we are not doing “the job” properly. “There is no negotiation with Mother Nature,” Collins said. Collins introduced the compass that he made to deal with natural gas. According to him technology impacts this compass in two ways- they are either physically or chemically degrading of the ecosphere or they are not or they are toxic or eco toxic with respect to the ecosphere or they are not. After his presentation Collins was happy to answer the questions that the audience had. Overall it was a good lecture full with lots of information regarding sustainability and encouraging actions towards it.