Chemistry & Biochemistry staff and student researchers were recognized at the 3rd Annual UCLA EH&S Safety Forward Awards Luncheon on February 13, 2020.
2019 Initiative Nominee (I.N.) for Safety Awards were presented to staff member
Dan Anderson
(Laboratory Manager/Research Scientist, David Eisenberg lab) and chemistry graduate student and co-president of the Joint Research Safety Initiative (JRSI)
Maya Segal
(Shimon Weiss 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 Colin Dimock, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S). They will also each receive a $75 gift card.
Safety Theory Workshop Awardees with Colin Dimock, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Environment, Health & Safety – (from left) Elida Escalante and Wai Mak (not pictured are Victoria Basile, Joseph Ong, and Maya Segal).
Staff member Elida Escalante (Lab Assistant II, Chem 153L labs with Anne Hong-Hermesdorf) and chemistry and biochemistry graduate students Victoria Basile (Shimon Weiss lab), Wai Mak (Richard Kaner lab), Joseph Ong (Jorge Torres lab), and Maya Segal (Shimon Weiss lab) were 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 Professor Paul Weiss’ 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 Weiss 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 Weiss lab members received recognition at the luncheon and a $75 gift card per quarter while enrolled in the program.
Professor Paul Weiss’ group.
All the awards are part of EH&S’s Safety Forward Incentives Program, launched in 2017.
Event photos by Kendall Lafranchi/EH&S.
Article by Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penny@chem.ucla.edu.
