Chemists Triumph in Green Gown Awards

Green chemists at the University of York have won a national award for their research and development work in green and sustainable industrial technologies.

The Department of Chemistry’s Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence emerged top in the Research and Development category of the annual Green GownAwards which recognise sustainability initiatives in academic institutions.  Judges praised the scale of the Centre’s links with industry and their contribution to promoting research and development with businesses across the Yorkshire and Humber region, nationally and internationally.

Dr Avtar Matharu, the Centre’s deputy director said: “This Award recognises our hard-fought efforts over ten years in developing, maintaining and enhancing the high quality provision of green and sustainable chemistry. We are aiming to enable a strategic step change to a knowledge-based, low carbon, biorenewable economy.”

Now in its ninth year, the Green Gown Awards attracted 81 finalists from colleges and universities across the UK. The awards were presented by TV geologist Professor Iain Stewart.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Professor Stewart said: “The Green Gown Awards are about celebrating a shift in thinking within the university and college sector to embrace those that are really pushing ahead with meaningful ways of making a future that works for all.”