Sustainable Agricultural Chemistry in the 21st Century

William M. Nelson is a Research Physical Scientist at the Engineering Research and Development Center for the US Army Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg, MS. He received a B.S. in chemistry from University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1972, an MA in chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis in 1982, and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in 1989, during which time he studied the synthesis and photobiology of analogs of the environmental carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene. After that he did postdoctoral studies in photochemistry at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. After leading R&D for a small pharmaceutical company, he worked for the State of Illinois, helping companies minimize waste and prevent pollution. Since 1995 he has been involved with Green and Environmental Chemistries while working in the US Environmental Protection Agency, the US Food and Drug Administration, and teaching at colleges and universities. During all this time he has also served as Supervisor, Branch Chief, and mentor to many aspiring scientists. The emphases in his research have been in organic reaction mechanisms, preparation of alternative cleaning technologies, green solvents, photocatalysis and synthesis of energetic compounds. He has jointly authored 2 patent applications and has published/presented more than 40 papers.