A letter concerning Dr. Warner and the Green Chemistry Ph.D. program at UMass Lowell. By John Michitson and Seth Itzkan

[This letter-to-the-editor has been published in The Lowell Sun.]

Dear Governor-Elect Patrick,

We are writing to alert you to a matter of economic and environmental urgency.

The Merrimack Valley region of Massachusetts is on the cusp of becoming a global leader in the emerging science of Green Chemistry. Green Chemistry is the rapidly growing science and industrial practice that reduces or eliminates the use of hazardous materials in manufacturing, while still providing cost effective products of equal or superior quality. The practice shows great promise in a wide swath of growing industries, including pharmaceuticals, electronics, and consumer goods. Green Chemistry sits squarely within the intersections of the $280 billion chemical, $229 billion pharmaceutical, and $1.6 billion “green technology” industries. It is an innovation that promises to help grow high-tech and environmentally responsible enterprises in our state. Several Massachusetts companies have already demonstrated leadership in this area. It is exactly the type of cutting edge practice we need to nurture. Unfortunately, just as this opportunity is about to bear fruit, its hold within the Commonwealth is being compromised.

[Pictured above: Center for Green Chemistry website at UMass Lowell. One of the most innovative programs in the country - it's future is in jeopardy.]

We must demonstrate that state universities can retain world-class expertise and that such expertise can translate into regional betterment.

For more than a year, many stakeholders from the business, government, academia and civic communities across the Merrimack Valley region of Massachusetts have been volunteering their expertise and valuable time to establish a Green Chemistry industry in the region. At the cornerstone of our effort is Dr. John Warner, Director, Center for Green Chemistry, and Professor, Plastics Engineering, at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell. Dr. Warner is a global authority of the Green Chemistry science. He is widely recognized as the founder of the field since its inception in the 1990s, and is today the field’s most sought after consultant. As examples of his extraordinary contributions to science and society, Dr. Warner is co-author with Paul Anastas of the authoritative book in the field, Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice, 1998. Dr. Warner was influential in creating the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge for recognition of nontoxic chemical technologies. Dr. Warner was similarly influential in creating House Bill H.R. 1215, The Green Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2005, that has earmarked money for research into clean chemistry for industry. This bill has wide bi-partisan support. Dr. Warner also initiated the nation’s first PhD program in Green Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts. We are fortunate to have Dr. Warner as a native son, and his presence here helps establish Massachusetts as a home for innovation.

Another remarkable attribute of Dr. Warner is his love of and loyalty to the Merrimack Valley. This is his home. He speaks with pride about the fact that so many of his former students have decided to work and live in the Merrimack Valley. Dr. Warner’s vision and energy regarding the potential of Green Chemistry to be both an economic driver and ecological enabler has inspired us to plan for jumpstarting this emerging industry in the same region where the industrial revolution began.

Our initial focus has been on the development of a proposal for a world class Green Chemistry research and demonstration center in the Merrimack Valley. This center would be the premier think tank in the field and would be on par with other preeminent centers in Massachusettts, such as The Broad Institute for Genomic Research, The MIT Media Center, and The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. This center would be a catalyst for green economic growth and would help draw industry to the region. We have earmarked the campus of the old Bradford College in Haverhill as a possible site, and the working title for the proposed center is The Bradford Institute for Green Chemistry. The effort to develop the center and help jumpstart the Green Chemistry industry in the region has been embraced by a wide range of stakeholders. The topic has been taken up by the Merrimack Valley Economic Development Council and in a public community forum at Northern Essex Community College (NECC). It has been the topic of numerous articles in regional papers, including The Eagle-Tribune. Everyone understands its value for the region. A full copy of our draft proposal for the Bradford Institute can be found at http://www.ivalley.orghttp://ivalley.org/blog/?p=58.

Unfortunately, at the current time, Dr. Warner’s position and his PhD program in Green Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell are at risk. Without Dr. Warner and his expertly designed PhD program, our efforts to initiate a Green Chemistry industry in the Merrimack Valley are greatly diminished. As a good neighbor, we are further concerned that his current students may not be offered the opportunities that they were promised. Dr. Warner has many opportunities elsewhere in the country. He does not want to leave and will stay to support the scientific and economic promise of Green Chemistry in The Commonwealth if afforded the opportunity. To lose an innovator like Dr. Warner now, at exactly the time when his expertise in the state is so needed, and so central to your own philosophy on green economic growth, would be a terrible loss. We must demonstrate that Massachusetts can be a welcome home for scientific leaders and industrial process innovators like Dr. Warner. We must demonstrate that state universities can retain world class expertise and that such expertise can translate into regional betterment.

Please help us retain Dr. Warner and his Green Chemistry PhD program at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell.

Sincerely,

John Michitson

Seth Itzkan

Founding Partners (along with Dr. Warner)

Merrimack Valley Green Chemistry Initiative

For further reading on Doctor Warner and Green Chemistry, please see
UMass Lowell Alumni Mag - Green Chemistry