Beyond Benign, a non-profit organization that promotes science guided by the principles of green chemistry, recently announced that its 2009-2010 Outreach Fellows include two Suffolk University undergraduate students. The students have been selected to attend the prestigious 14th Annual Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference in Washington, D.C. this June.

Five fellows are awarded full funding to facilitate the training of undergraduate and graduate students at the national student workshop. Rising seniors Andrew Alexander and Desiree Saracino, both of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, join Lisa Schott (Gordon College), Ben Stewart (Gordon College), and Katrina Thistle (Simmons College) as this year's recipients.

College students in Beyond Benign’s Outreach Fellows program become ambassadors of green chemistry in their local communities and mentors to younger students. Fellows inspire students to pursue careers as scientists by demystifying science and acting as role models in local K-12 schools.

To date, more than 50 students from Gordon College, Simmons College, Suffolk University, Emmanuel College, Bridgewater State College and Cambridge College have participated in the Outreach Fellows program.

The Outreach Fellows program, along with Beyond Benign's Community & Classroom Outreach and Curriculum Institutes for Teachers focus on the education of the next generation of scientists; the aim is to inspire future scientists and to create more informed consumers and voters who are able to support a growing industrial market based on sustainable products and processes.

Beyond Benign has another connection to Suffolk University; Raks Derival, High School Science and Outreach Initiatives Manager for the company, is a Suffolk Alumni.