Jon Smieja

Environmental Chemist, Global Sustainability, Steelcase
Webinar: Careers in Green Chemistry

Jon received his Bachelors of Science degree in chemistry from the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, MN) in 2005 and his Ph.D. in Inorganic chemistry from the University of California – San Diego in 2012. His graduate research involved developing molecules for the electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide and water to liquid fuels. Through this research, Jon published ten original research papers and one review article.

Jon started at Steelcase in January of 2013 as a member of the Materials Chemistry team within the Global Environmental Sustainability group where he served as the Environmental Chemist until February 2016 when he transitioned to a role as a Leader of Sustainable Design & Development. His role at Steelcase involves collecting materials chemistry data from suppliers, evaluating that data against human and environmental health criteria, working with suppliers to eliminate chemicals of concern, working on material innovation projects, leading North American Sustainable Design & Development, and communicating with customers in order to provide transparency about Steelcase’s products.