Joint Safety Team
The Joint Safety Team (JST) in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Connecticut is a student-led initiative to build laboratory safety culture within academic labs, expand graduate student understanding of industry laboratory safety culture, and for students to build professional capacity through building and leading projects. If you are a current graduate student bursting with ideas and looking to make an impact on this department while building your professional network and those all-important “soft” skills, contact Jessica A. Martin at jessica.a.martin@uconn.edu.
The Stall Street Journal
The Joint Safety Team is the creator of the "Stall Street Journal," an effort to bring laboratory safety information (and other fun updates!) to the public. We would like to thank Dr. Christian Bruckner for his active role in this project.
Undergraduate Edition
Written by: Gillian Macusi (Pinkhassik Lab) and Weiyu Zhang (Pinkhassik Lab)
2020 Archive
2019 Archive
2018 Archive
Graduate Edition
Current authors: Jasmin Portelinha (Angeles-Boza Lab) and Chau Vy (Adamson Lab)
2018-2019 authors: Jasmin Portelinha (Angeles-Boza Lab) and Jessica A. Martin (Pinkhassik Lab)
2020 Archive
2019 Archive
Undergraduate Lab Safety Posters
Starting in Spring 2019, Jasmin Portelinha and Cristin Bosko have been working with the staff in Teaching Laboratory Services (TLS) in the Department of Chemistry to create updated, eye-catching signs to promote safety culture and awareness amongst undergraduate students in the teaching labs. We would like to thank Eric Krantz for his active role in this project.
Below are posters that have been designed by our team.
Industry Laboratory Tours
The Industry Laboratory Tour series was designed to expose graduate students to safety cultue in industrial labs, as well as provide information and networking opportunities for those whose goal is to go into an industry career upon graduation. We would like to thank Drs. Christian Bruckner, Jing Zhao, Mark Peczuh, and Amy Howell, for supporting these tours.
Saint-Gobain Research North America
On Wednesday, November 13th, 2019, 9 students from the Department of Chemistry and the Institute of Materials Science attended a tour of the Saint-Gobain Research facility in Northborough, MA coordinated by Jessica A. Martin. A volunteer carpool was provided by members of the JST: Gillian Macusi and Cristian Aviles-Martin.
We would like to thank the following scientists and engineers for sharing their work with us: Julie Dicorleto (Director), Nicolas Orf (Group Leader/Principal Scientist/External Relations Manager), Morgane Laurent (Senior Research Engineer), Denis Cetin (Senior Research Engineer), Michael Lemberger (Forming & Additive Manufacturing R&D Manager), Sarah White (EHS Engineer), Steven Jacek (Research Engineer), George Glavin (R&D Manager, Materials Characterization), Steven Gunnard (Senior Technical Specialist/Lead Person), Milo Howard (Sr. Lab Supervisor), Julie Dinh-Ngoc (Sr. Research Engineer, Materials Engineering), and Lisa Johnson (Analytical Chemist, Materials Characterization).
On Friday, April 5th 2019, 12 students from the Department of Chemistry, the Institute of Materials Science (IMS), and the Department of Physics attended a tour of the Saint-Gobain Research facility in Northborough, MA coordinated by Jessica A. Martin. A volunteer carpool was provided by members of the JST: Gillian Macusi, Cristian Aviles-Martin, and Jasmin Portelinha.
We would like to thank Sarah White, Health, Safety, and Environment Engineer, for organizing and hosting our tour, as well as the following scientists who shared their science with us:
Maureen Brosnan, Principal Scientist, Abrasives
Nicolas Drolet, R&D Manager, Surfaces and Polymeric Materials
Ying Wang, Principal Scientist, Surfaces and Polymeric Materials
To learn more about Saint-Gobain, visit http://northboro.saint-gobain.com/
Also, check out InNOVAte 2019, a new program they have launched this year to challenge and encourage others to generate innovative ideas to disrupt the built environment value chain: https://www.nova-saint-gobain.com/en/innovate-2019-challenge#SGNAsocial
Boehringer-Ingelheim (BI)
On Tuesday, October 29, 2019, 17 students from the Department of Chemistry, the Institute of Materials Science, and the Biomedical Engineering Department attended a tour of the BI facility in Ridgefield, CT coordinated by Jessica A. Martin. A volunteer carpool was provided by members of the JST: Cristian Aviles-Martin and Jessica A. Martin.
We would like to thank Diana Arciniegas and Dr. Ling Wu for hosting our tour, and the great scientists that showed us around their labs and answered our questions in a Q&A panel.
On Tuesday, March 19, 2019, 18 students from the Department of Chemistry and the Institute of Materials Science (IMS) attended a day-long tour of the BI facility in Ridgefield, CT coordinated by Jessica A. Martin. A volunteer carpool was provided by members of the JST: Gillian Macusi, Weiyu Zhang, Cristian Aviles-Martin, and Jasmin Portelinha.
We would like to thank Diana Arciniegas and Dr. Ling Wu for organizing and hosting our tour, as well as the following scientists who shared their science with us: Sarah Low, Jim King, BC Naranyana, Chen-ming Lee, Emmanuelle Balme, Alex Villalobos, and Khoa Nguyen.
To learn more about BI, see "Boehringer Ingelheim: A Brief History" at the link below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKhWm5cyBFs
Alexion Pharmaceuticals
On Friday, November 8th, 2019, 13 students from the Department of Chemistry, the Molecular and Cell Biology Department, and the Department of Chemical Engineering attended a tour of the Alexion Pharmaceuticals facility in New Haven, CT coordinated by Jessica A. Martin. A volunteer carpool was provided by members of the JST: Gillian Macusi, Cristian Aviles-Martin, and Jessica A. Martin.
We would like to thank Adam Lucka, Director of Product Development Operations, for organizing and hosting our tour, as well as Caitlin Boland, Andrea Kadilak, Nick Morse, Mark Lefers, and others for sharing their experiences in an informal panel discussion with our group.
To learn more about Alexion Pharmaceuticals, visit https://alexion.com/.
Hosting Seminar Speakers
Paul Lawrence, PhD of Biocogent LLC
On Thursday, October 24th, 2019, Dr. Lawrence was hosted by the JST to give a talk called “Ancient Viruses and How They Influence Humanity” in the Department of Chemistry Seminar Series which included some fascinating updates about the R&D work he is doing at Biocogent LLC. Dr. Lawrence spent the day talking research with graduate students and faculty while admiring the amazing view from the 4th floor Graduate Student Lounge.
To learn more about Dr. Paul Lawrence
Conference Activities
50th ACS Central Regional Meeting (CERM) 2019 (June 4-8, 2019)
Developing Graduate Student Leadership Skills in Laboratory Safety (90-minute Workshop)
Lead Presenter: Jessica A. Martin (UConn, JST Member)
Co-Presenter: David C. Finster (Wittenberg University and 2019 CHAS Fellow)
CHAS Coordinator and Workshop Originator: Kali A. Miller (ACS Publications)
ACS San Diego Fall 2019 (August 25-29, 2019)
Developing Graduate Student Leadership Skills in Laboratory Safety (3-hour Workshop)
Co-Presenter: Jessica A. Martin (UConn, JST Member)
Co-Presenter: Chandra Karki (University of South Dakota, EH&S Graduate Assistant)
CHAS Coordinator and Workshop Originator: Kali A. Miller (ACS Publications)
To learn more about the Workshop
To learn more about Kali A. Miller
To learn more about Jessica A. Martin
To learn more about the Division of Chemical Health and Safety (CHAS) of the ACS
To learn more about Chandra M. Karki
ACS Summer School on Green Chemistry & Sustainable Energy
2018 Jessica A. Martin participated. Read about the summer school in C&EN here
2019 Cristian Aviles-Martin participated. Read about his experience here
Resources to Strengthen your Safety Skills
UConn Occupational Safety and Health Online Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Program
ACS Summer School on Green Chemistry & Sustainable Energy
Other Student-Led Joint Safety Teams in the USA
Northwestern Research Student Safety Initiative (RSSI)
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
University of Chicago Joint Research Safety Initiative
Ohio State University Joint Safety Team
Membership 2018-2019
Jessica A. Martin (Head), Jasmin Portelinha, Cristin Bosko, Gillian Macusi, Weiyu Zhang, Cristian Aviles-Martin, Veronica Hayes, IC Duay, Anne Mirich, and Chau Vy
Thank you for your department engagement!