The Executive Committee of the Columbia Nanocenter believes very strongly that we must have a strong safety program. To accomplish this, we held a safety training workshop on May 7, 2004. Representatives from Columbia's Environmental Health and Radiation Safety office presented trainings on general laboratory safety and hazardous waste management. All Nanocenter students and postdocs were required to attend if they had not received comparable training at another time.

In addition to general lab safety, there are a number of special safety concerns for scientists working in nanotechnology. NSEC Managing Director Jim Yardley lead a discussion on Nanotechnology and Health, Safety and the Environment immediately following the EH&RS presentations.

This workshop was the kickoff of the Nanocenter's safety program. We will hold another workshop on Nanotechnology Safety in Fall 2004. In addition, we will have monthly safety modules on topics such as laser safety, safe handling of compressed gases, and clean room safety.

The Nanocenter is committed to following NSF and Columbia University guidelines for safe research. We hope that our safety program will encourage everyone to work responsibly and keep safety in mind at all times.