Participate in the Competition!

May 2024 | CHEM & PME

Compete for awards, fame, and excellence in the JRSI’s Peer Lab Walkthrough Competition! All labs throughout the Department of Chemistry and the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering can sign up to participate, win fabulous prizes, and secure bragging rights. The premise? Simple: A group of your peers will virtually tour your lab looking both for safety mishaps and clever ingenuity—safest lab (normalized to your science) wins!

lab signup volunteer signup

The Prizes

You have to play to win!

lab signup

1 Grand Prize

$1,000

Awarded to the single safest lab, spanning both Chemistry and PME.

Most Improved

$500

For a lab that has participated in PLW at least once in the last two years and shows the greatest improvement in their score.

Best First Time Lab

$500

For a lab that has NOT participated in PLW in the last two years (since 2021) and has the highest safety score.

About Lab Walkthroughs

The JRSI will be holding the Peer Lab Walkthroughs in-person!

Our peers are often our best resources. This competition is primarily a collaborative educational opportunity for our labs to trade safety knowledge, creative fixes, and learned lessons. They do not carry any regulatory authority, and do not involve any reporting. Scoring will be normalized for your lab’s hazard categories and will involve both positive points for innovative, proactive solutions and negative points for inevitable mishaps. We will work hard to make sure that your walkthrough is scheduled for a day and time that does not interrupt your lab’s science.

Sign up today for your chance to win the grand prize!

Labs do not need to provide their own volunteer judge to participate in the competition.

Competition Timeline

May 2024

APRIL 15

Deadline to Register Your Lab

Want fabulous prizes? Get your lab to participate!

May 01

Deadline to Volunteer

No prior knowledge required; training will be provided. Oh yeah, and you’ll be showered with SWAG.

May 8-10

Volunteer Training Options

Only one day of training is needed. Three days are offered for training. If you can’t attend any of the three days, we will work it out.

May 13-17

Walkthroughs

Participating labs will be contacted to ensure that the walkthroughs take place at a convenient time for all. Walkthroughs will be conducted in-person.