UCLA Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S) – 2018 Safety Forward Awards

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Chemistry & Biochemistry staff and student researchers were recognized at the 2nd Annual UCLA EH&S Safety Forward Awards Luncheon on February 13, 2019.

2018 Initiative Nominee (I.N.) for Safety Awards were presented to graduate student

Devin Brandt

(Profs. William Gelbart and Chuck Knobler labs), staff member

Maria Dimaano-Salanga

(Lab Support under Dr. Maher Henary), and graduate student

Robert Susick

(Prof. Neil Garg lab). The awards recognize members of the UCLA research community for their contributions to advancing safety on campus by going above and beyond normal laboratory safety practices. The winners were nominated by their colleagues and/or principal investigators. The final awardees were voted on by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR) Safety Oversight Committee. At the luncheon, held at the UCLA Luskin Conference Center, each winner was presented with a certificate of recognition by Dr. Roger Wakimoto, Vice Chancellor for Research. They will also each receive a $75 gift card.
2018Safety Awards

Safety award recipients with Vice Chancellor for Research Dr. Roger Wakimoto – (from left) Maria Dimaano-Salanga, Mit Muni, and Robert Susick (Devin Brandt not pictured). Photos courtesy of EH&S. 

Graduate student 

Mit Muni

 (Prof. Richard Kaner lab) was recognized for completing the core curriculum of the EH&S Safety Theory Workshops – a four-part workshop series which provides UCLA researchers interactive training in identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks in laboratory settings.
Members of Prof. Sarah Tolbert’s lab were recognized at the luncheon for their participation in the Lab ENGAGE incentive-based safety program which involves lab implementation of a safety-oriented lab project over the course of a year. The Tolbert group set up a lab management system, which involved every member of the lab, to help them establish a new culture of accountability for their own safety and compliance. Similar to the I.N. for Safety awardees, each of the Tolbert lab members received recognition at the luncheon and a $75 gift card per quarter while enrolled in the program.

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The Tolbert group in September 2018. Photo by Penny Jennings.

All the awards are part of EH&S’s Safety Forward Incentives Program, launched in 2017.

Article by Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemsitry, penny@chem.ucla.edu.