Mridul Gautam, vice president for research and innovation at the University of Nevada, Reno, has been named to a national Task Force on Laboratory Safety.  Formed by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the 13-member task force is comprised of senior research officers and environmental and health safety experts, and will provide research universities with recommendations and guidance. It was created by the APLU in coordination with the Association of American Universities, American Chemical Society and Council on Government Relations.

"We have an opportunity to create greater awareness of the imperative for lab safety and to develop recommendations that address both organizational culture and practices," Gautam said.  

"This is an essential matter to address," Taylor Eighmy of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, chair of the task force, and Mark McLellan of Utah State University, co-chair of the task force, said in a joint statement announcing the initiative. "The culture around lab and studio safety is integral to the responsible conduct of research and scholarly excellence."  

In its announcement, the APLU noted that recent and ongoing efforts by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Board, the American Chemical Society and the National Academies reflect both concern for and focus on the absence of a lab safety culture in universities and colleges. They went on to say the necessity for institutions to keep their faculty, staff, students and visitors safe during teaching and research activities is critical for their growth, success and long-term sustainability.   

The task force will address the needs that academic institutions have to: understand practical steps in implementing a 'culture of safety' in laboratories; document a commitment to laboratory safety excellence in order to benchmark against leading practice; document compliance with national, state and institutional laboratory policies; showcase a dedication to preventing and managing injury of individuals performing laboratory activities; and limit liability by meeting established standards of excellence and fostering a commitment to develop and preserve a culture of safety and compliance.  

While Gautam is "pleased with the way our system works" at the University of Nevada, Reno, he looks forward to identifying best practices that can benefit the University's research enterprise through his perspective as a task force member.