John is a founder of the field of green chemistry and is widely considered one of the world’s leading experts in designing safer products and processes.

He received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts Boston and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Princeton University in Medicinal Chemistry.

He then lead a research group at the Polaroid Corporation for 9 years before returning to the University of Massachusetts as an academic where he spent 9 years educating the next generation of professionals in green chemistry.

John has recently launched an independent research institute, The Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry, aimed at working closely with industries to provide green chemistry technologies for the marketplace. Along with the Warner Babcock Institute, John co-founded the non-profit organization Beyond Benign and serves it as the chair of the Board of Directors. John has won numerous awards for his contribution to academia and to green chemistry, including the 2004 Presidential award in science mentoring.

John is the author of over 150 papers and a holder of numerous patents for green chemistry technologies with applications ranging from electronic and polymeric materials to pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. He is co-author of the seminal book titled Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice (Oxford University Press, 1998). John is the editor of the new journal Green Chemistry: Letters and Reviews.