Heh-Won Chang, PhD Fellowship in Green Chemistry

Purpose To provide financial support to full-time graduate students conducting research in green chemistry.

Description The funds may be used for any purpose, including conference travel, professional development, and living expenses, while the recipient is in graduate school. Heh-Won Chang, PhD Fellowship awardees receive a one-time payment of $5,000. The fellowship is non-renewable.

History

The Heh-Won Chang Fellowship was established in 2019 in honor of composites research expert, Dr. Heh-Won Chang. Born in 1939, Heh-Won Chang earned a B.S. in chemistry at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, in 1961. He then moved to the U.S. to earn an M.S. in 1969 and a Ph.D. in 1971, both in physical chemistry from Kansas State University.

After serving as an instructor and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Rochester and the University of Toronto, he joined Bendix Research Laboratories in Southfield, Michigan, conducting research on carbon-carbon composites for aircraft brakes. In 1980, he transferred to the Bendix Advanced Technology Center in Columbia, Maryland, researching the physical properties of polymers and continuous fiber composites. For the last ten years of his career, Chang was a manager for Allied-Signal’s Spectra composite business. He and his team developed more than 50 applications for customers across 15 countries.

Chang is credited with numerous papers in publications including the Journal of the American Chemical Society and the Journal of Chemical Physics, and he presented his research at many industry conferences.

He died in 1994, but his memory lives on in the green chemistry award bearing his name, the Heh-Won Chang, PhD Fellowship in Green Chemistry, which was established in 2019 by his wife, Cecilia P. Chang.

Eligibility

The Heh-Won Chang, PhD Fellowship in Green Chemistry is open to full-time graduate students across the globe who are currently conducting research in green chemistry. Applicants must have at least one full year of study remaining in their graduate program from the time of the expected award. Recipients must present their research at the annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference, where the award will be formally presented.

How to Apply

Award Scope and Objectives Green chemistry is the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances. Green chemistry encompasses all aspects and types of chemical processes, including synthesis, catalysis, analysis, monitoring, and separations, and reaction conditions that reduce impacts on human health and the environment relative to the current state of the art. Research being conducted by applicants to the Chang Fellowship must address one of the following focus areas:

1. The use of greener synthetic pathways. This focus area involves designing and implementing a novel, greener pathway for a chemical product. Examples include synthetic pathways that:

• Use feedstocks that are of lower inherent hazard to humans or the environment, and/or that are renewable (e.g., biomass, natural oils).
• Use novel reagents or catalysts, especially those that use earth-abundant metals, organocatalysts, biocatalysts, and microorganisms. Precious metal (i.e., Pt, Pd, Ru, Rh, Ag, Os, Ir, Au) containing catalysts at concentrations greater than 10 ppm are strongly discouraged unless these are heterogeneous and greater than 95% recyclable.
• Are natural processes, such as fermentation, or use biomimetic processes.
• Are mass, energy efficient, and step economical.

2. The use of greener reaction conditions. This focus area involves improving conditions other than the overall design or redesign of a synthesis. Greener analytical methods often fall within this focus area. Examples include reaction conditions that:

• Replace hazardous chemicals (starting materials, reagents, etc.) and solvents with chemicals and solvents that have a lower impact on human health and the environment.
• Use solventless reaction conditions and solid-state reactions.
• Use novel processing methods that prevent pollution at its source.
• Eliminate energy- or material-intensive separation and purification steps.
• Improve energy efficiency, including reactions running closer to ambient (T and P) conditions.

3. The design of greener chemicals. This focus area involves designing and implementing chemical products that are less hazardous than the products or technologies they replace. Examples include chemical products that are:

• Less hazardous (environmental, health and safety) than current products.
• Inherently safer with regard to accident potential.
• Recyclable or biodegradable after use.
• Safer for the environment (e.g., do not deplete ozone or form smog).