Lab Safety

About Us

Our department chair, Dr. John Flake started the ChE Lab Safety Leadership Team to promote a culture of safety in the Cain Department of Chemical Engineering. The team consists of graduate students from each research group. We meet monthly to inspect the experimental labs and discuss any observed hazards. The goal of the group is to proactively handle safety hazards rather than reactively address them after an incident.

Traditionally, safety is the responsibility of the PI and is merely followed by the people working under them. However, with the involvement of graduate students, there is a shift from simply following rules that keep us safe to understanding why things are done a certain way. There is also a shift in responsibility from a single person to every person that steps foot in the lab.

Additionally, by having a group of peers walk through each lab, the safety culture becomes friendlier and less intimidating. The goal is not to reprimand or punish. Rather, it is to encourage a positive, safe culture. This way mistakes can be discussed, near misses can be addressed and questions can be asked without the fear of a negative outcome.

Students pictured in the banner from left are: Phillip Brahana, Hannah Hymel, Xiaoshen Bai, John Cal Hendershot, Kelly Cohen, MaCayla Caso,and Maharram Jabrayilov.

Lab Safety

Helpful Links