Bethlehem, PA, November 2, 2016— Terrence J. Collins, Teresa Heinz Professor of Green Chemistry and Director of the Institute for Green Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh will present “Purifying Water of Endocrine-Disrupting Micropollutants” at Moravian College on Tuesday November 15 at 7:00 p.m.in Dana Lecture Hall in the Collier Hall of Science. The presentation is free to the public.
 
A micropollutant (MP) is any substance present in low concentrations in the environment that has an undesired effect. MPs can disrupt endocrine activity, causing damage to cellular development, and they can do so at very low doses—doses to which people are often exposed. Collins will describe the use of TAML activators—chemical compounds that replicate enzymes found in nature—to remove MPs from water in a nontoxic way. Processes that use chemistry that is unfamiliar to nature, such as chlorine disinfection, are more likely to be toxic. Employing TAML activators offers a green, nontoxic alternative.
 
“TAML activators copy our own metabolism and exhibit superior technical, cost, and environmental performances to incumbent processes at a critical time when the world needs better ways to clean water of bioactive pollutants such as estrogens, drugs, pesticides, and other everyday chemicals,” says Collins.
 
Collins was born and raised in Auckland and is a citizen of both New Zealand and the United States. In addition to his research, he taught the first course anywhere in the world in green chemistry, which focuses on developing chemical products and processes that are compatible with a sustainable future. His many honors include the Heinz Award for the Environment, the EPA’s 1999 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award, the Inaugural Kauffman Award of the Pittsburgh Foundation, Japan’s Society of Pure and Applied Coordination Chemistry Award, and the Pittsburgh Section Award of the American Chemical Society. He is an honorary professor and a Distinguished Alumnus awardee of Auckland University and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand.
 
Moravian College encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact Frank Kuserk at kuserkf@moravian.edu.
 
The program is co-sponsored by the Moravian College Chemistry Department, Environmental Studies and Sciences Program, and Moravian College’s InFocus Program on Sustainability.