Chemists
and chemical engineers are involved in and responsible
for the life of a product from the discovery stage to manufacturing,
market introduction, and end of life. They participate in and contribute
to all segments of the supply chain, from cradle to grave. In the
industrial sector, they work hand in hand with other professionals
in engineering, business, intellectual property, and environmental
safety and health. To better prepare students to understand industry-focused
grand challenges and contribute to the long-term sustainability of
the enterprise, we designed a course for advanced undergraduate and
graduate students in the Schools of Chemistry & Biochemistry and
Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of
Technology. The pilot class of 26 students was introduced to chemical
manufacturing, the eight sustainability grand challenges, intellectual
property, regulatory and registration, and process hazard and safety.
Invited speakers from industries such as Albemarle, BASF, Dow, ExxonMobil,
GSK, Solvay, and PepsiCo presented their companies’ approach
to sustainability. Life cycle inventory (LCI) assessment of an existing
product in the market was the main thrust of course, whereby student
teams were charged to develop a virtual manufacturing process based
on their review of patented literature. The groups completed nine
LCI assessment projects, and by applying mass metrics and GC&E
principles, they offered recommendations for rendering the processes
more sustainable. This perspective presents the course objectives,
approach, LCI methodology, results, conclusions, and lessons learned.