Undergraduate Student Resources

“Awareness is the single most fundamental rule of chemical safety.”

UIC chemical engineering is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for its students, staff, and faculty. The university requires adherence to basic laboratory safety rules and guidelines with regard to the safe handling and use of chemicals, bio-hazardous materials, radioactive materials, and laboratory equipment.

• The UIC laboratory safety websiteis the repository of all the key information you will need.
• All students, staff, and faculty members participating in laboratory research/work must obtain laboratory safety training and acquire a laboratory safety training certificate (renewed annually) before starting any laboratory work. One copy of the certificate must be submitted to the main office and one to the laboratory PI; and one copy must be secured in a drawer or shelf in the laboratory designated for maintaining laboratory personnel certificates. Learn more about training here.
• Emergency procedures
• Laboratory safety plan: Every laboratory must maintain an accessible laboratory safety plan.
• Personal protection equipment guide
• Standard operating procedures
• Safety seminar: The department will organize at least one safety seminar every year. Attending the seminar will be a requirement for most students, and all others (non-required students, staff, and faculty members) are highly encouraged to attend.

Department safety officer: Jan Sagun, (312) 996-3424, jsagun2@uic.edu

The Safety and Chemical Engineering Education (SAChE) program, initiated in 1992, is a cooperative effort among the Center for Chemical Process Safety and engineering schools. It provides teaching materials and programs that bring elements of process safety into the education of undergraduate and graduate students studying chemical and biochemical products and processes.

SAChE Student Safety Certificate Program:
A Certificate of Safety Achievement is presented by SAChE and AIChE to students who demonstrate proficiency in process safety training modules developed for SAChE. The program allows students to receive recognition for their efforts, provided they are members of AIChE. Visit the SAChE website for additional information.

Members of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers shall uphold and advance the integrity, honor, and dignity of the engineering profession by: being honest and impartial and serving with fidelity their employers, their clients, and the public; striving to increase the competence and prestige of the engineering profession; and using their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare.

To achieve these goals, members shall:

• Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public and protect the environment in performance of their professional duties.
• Formally advise their employers or clients (and consider further disclosure, if warranted) if they perceive that a consequence of their duties will adversely affect the present or future health or safety of their colleagues or the public.
• Accept responsibility for their actions, seek and heed critical review of their work, and offer objective criticism of the work of others.
• Issue statements or present information only in an objective and truthful manner.
• Act in professional matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, avoiding conflicts of interest and never breaching confidentiality.
• Treat fairly and respectfully all colleagues and co-workers, recognizing their unique contributions and capabilities.
• Perform professional services only in areas of their competence.
• Build their professional reputations on the merits of their services.
• Continue their professional development throughout their careers, and provide opportunities for the professional development of those under their supervision.
• Never tolerate harassment.
• Conduct themselves in a fair, honorable, and respectful manner.

© 2008 American Institute of Chemical Engineers. All rights reserved.

UIC is committed to full inclusion and participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of university life. Students who face or anticipate disability-related barriers while at UIC should connect with the Disability Resource Center (DRC) on the web at drc.uic.edu, by email at drc@uic.edu, or by phone at (312) 413-2183 to create a plan for reasonable accommodations.

In order to receive accommodations, students must disclose disability to the DRC, complete an interactive registration process with the DRC, and provide their course instructor with a Letter of Accommodation. Course instructors in receipt of a Letter of Accommodation will work with the student and the DRC to implement approved accommodations.