19-06-2019
Ana Rita Duarte, professor and leader of the Des.solve lab at LAQV in FCT NOVA, is the coordinator of the COST Action “CA18224 - Green Chemical Engineering Network towards upscaling sustainable processes” that has been approved by the Committee of Senior Officials on the 4th of June 2019.
Ana Rita Duarte explains that “GREENERING is focused on the four major factors that contribute for the faster growth of green chemistry: Collaboration, Technology Forcing, Compromise and Enhanced Education. GREENERING actions, such as conferences and seminars, summer schools, practical courses mentoring towards funding and commercialization, and student/researchers mobility, will be the driving force for creating consumer awareness and influence on government regulation”.
As main proposer of the COST Action proposal, Ana Rita Duarte is nominated Action Chair being the responsible for the coordination and implementation of the Action. The COST action involves 21 partners from ten countries and includes four Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) from Portugal and France.
“Science and innovation are boosted by collaboration and partnerships. The possibility to coordinate such Action is the recognition of the importance of the field of green chemistry and sustainable engineering in European policies. For our group is a major responsibility to lead such an Action, which we hope that will contribute to the education of many PhD students, the creation of new start-up companies and reinforce the implementation of green technologies at the industrial level”, says Ana Rita Duarte.
There are 40 new COST Actions approved that will start in Autumn 2019. Natural sciences lead the way as the most represented field of science (53% of the Actions), followed by engineering and technology (30%), social sciences (28%), agricultural sciences (20%), medical and health sciences (18%) and humanities (10%). COST provides networking opportunities for researchers and innovators in order to strengthen Europe’s capacity to address scientific, technological and societal challenges, with a duration of four years that boost research, innovation and careers.
