Hello, World!
We’ve completed our Kick-Off Event—Phew! Now that we’ve officially introduced ourselves, we hope to work closely with all of you in the upcoming years to better our research environment. But first, can we please just talk about how awesome this event was??
Day 1 – Invited Speakers and Panelists
We had some fantastic speakers and panelists, and are very grateful to them for participating in our Kick-Off Event.
From left to right, our guests were:
- Irv Potts – EHS Leader in R&D, DOW Chemical Company
- Steve Rupkey, CIH – Manager, Worker Safety and Health Programs, Argonne National Lab
- Prof. Joseph Kanabrocki– Professor of Microbiology and Associate Vice President for Research Safety, University of Chicago
- Prof. William Tolman – Professor of Chemistry and Associate Dean of Arts & Sciences, Washington University
- Prof. Craig Merlic – Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Executive Director of the UC Center for Lab Safety, UCLA
Engaging discussions were had, jokes were made, and some pretty deep questions were asked. After the formalities were over, the much-awaited raffle began—congratulations to all of the winners! Those prizes were preeeeetty sweet. I’m a little jealous.
Finally, what better way to end the day than a deliciously amazing catered meal? None. There is no better way. Fight me.
Day 2 – Vendor Fair
Ah, vendor fairs—one of the quintessential aspects of science. Gotta eye that SWAG and decide if it’s worth the cost of having to interact with an unfamiliar human being… But let’s be real, the SWAG here was pretty dope. Shout-out to our participating vendors: Airgas, Justrite, Stericycle, Grainger, Fisher Scientific, Brady SPC, and Workrite.
And uh, that hot dog cart, though. I’m pretty sure I saw a few people walk away with hot dogs in their cheeks to store for the winter.
Omnomnom.
We’re so glad that so much of our community got involved in our introductory event, and we’re exited to bring you many more programs in the future.
Alright, here we go…