On Tuesday, September 24, EH&S will hold a “Meet and Greet” event for students, postdocs, and faculty of the department.
Because laboratory safety is at its best when Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) officers and researchers work together, the goal of the event is for members of our labs to be able to meet and get to know EH&S staff and learn about the safety resources available for researchers at UCLA.
Anyone who is conducting research in UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry labs is encouraged to attend the event, which will take place at 11:30 a.m. in the Young Hall CS50 lecture hall. Presentations and a Q&A will be followed by a reception with pizza and refreshments on the patio.
Presentations will be made by Dean of Physical Sciences Professor Miguel Garcia-Garibay; lab safety expert Professor Craig Merlic, Chair of the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry Safety Committee and Executive Director of the UC Center for Laboratory Safety; EH&S safety specialist Dr. Stephen Sasaki, and members of the UCLA Joint Research Safety Initiative (JRSI), graduate students Arundhati Deshmukh (Caram group) and Dane Stanfield (Schwartz group). JRSI is a grassroots safety initiative run by UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry graduate students with the aim of improving research safety for their peers and the department.
EH&S Laboratory Safety Specialists and Chemistry & Biochemistry Ph.D. alums Drs. Jack Braken, Scott Hsieh, Christopher Kolodziej, and Stephen Sasaki.
Four of the EH&S Laboratory Safety Specialists who will be at the event are uniquely qualified to understand the challenges of working in our labs because they are all alumni of the department! Lab Safety Division Manager Dr. Scott Hsieh received his Ph.D. in biochemistry with Professor Sabeeha Merchant in 2011, Chemical Hygiene Officer Dr. Christopher Kolodziej received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry with Professor Heather Maynard in 2011, Lab Safety Officer Dr. Jack Bracken received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry with Professor Patrick Harran in 2016, and Laboratory Safety Specialist Dr. Steven Sasaki, whose office is in the Young Hall Safety Office Rm. 1217, received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry with Professor Sarah Tolbert in 2018.
Questions about the event can be directed to Dr. Steven Sasaki at ssasaki@ehs.ucla.edu, (310) 206-3661.
Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penny@chem.ucla.edu.
