Please add your thoughts, prayers, and memories in the comment section below.

Ralph Stuart, a groundbreaker in environmental health and safety and a leader in ACS, passed away on December 6, 2023.

Over the course of nearly 40 years, Ralph made an incredible impact on health and safety.

Ralph was a pioneer in the health and safety field. Within ACS, he worked with and led the Division of Chemical Health and Safety and the Committee on Chemical Safety. He created the first known safety listserve (SAFETY-L), as well as the DCHAS-L listserve and this DCHAS website. He was an active member of the Campus Safety, Health and Environmental Management Association (CSHEMA) for more than 35 years, and he worked with organizations and individuals worldwide.

Ralph has published many papers and presented scores of lectures, workshops, and webinars, and he encouraged and inspired even more papers and presentations from others. He was so creative, so intelligent, and so motivated to push harder to find more and more ways to reach people and connect them with the information they need – his enthusiasm and passion were infectious. He mentored many people, from health and safety professionals to undergraduate students.

Ralph didn’t just talk, he acted, and in so doing created or inspired countless resources.

In 1985, Ralph joined the staff of the University of Vermont to create their first Chemical Right-to-Know program. Over the next 27 years, he built that program into an Environmental Health and Safety office that continues to flourish under the leadership of his protégé, Francis Churchill. He returned to his alma mater, Cornell University, where he made the connection between health and safety and science librarians, which initiated the connection between CHAS and CINF. In 2014, Ralph joined Keene State College as its Chemical Hygiene Officer and Environmental Safety Manager. He served as a mentor to many students in the Safety and Occupational Health Applied Sciences program and taught several courses. He was expecting to retire from Keene State later this year.

Among his countless accomplishments, Ralph created networks for individuals and groups to communicate and share resources and ideas virtually. In the early 1990s, he recognized the connection of behavioral sciences and laboratory safety and brought such professionals into the field. He boldly reached out to the EPA to convince them that there was a more effective way to manage chemical waste at universities, eventually leading to the current Academic Waste Rules. He worked with the NIH and international collaborators to study how people look for chemical safety information and how to drive them to the best resources. He worked with graduate students and early career scientists and health and safety professionals to provide mentorship and encourage best practices and conversation. He worked with educators to advance pedagogy for continuous learning.

Ralph influenced, inspired, and mentored so many people who will feel his loss, and impacted people who never heard of him in ways they will not know. He has truly planted trees under whose shade he knew he would never sit. 

Ralph’s family will have a private memorial service in 2024. ACS DCHAS will share additional ways to celebrate his life over the coming weeks.

Current Workshops Schedule

[If you are looking for other workshops run by CHAS, please click here.]

Register for Feb 9, 2025 Risk Management in the Research lab: RAMP Workshop

History of Peer-Led Workshops

The 1^st Peer-Led Workshop

In 2018, Dr. Kali A. Miller, at the time a graduate researcher at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign and involved in the laboratory safety team there, developed a workshop called “Developing Graduate Student Leadership Skills in Laboratory Safety.” Initially supported by the ACS Committee on Chemical Safety, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety, ACS Safety Programs, and the ACS Office of Graduate Education, the workshop was first held at the ACS National Meeting in Spring 2018. A paper was published describing this pilot workshop and initial survey analysis that can be found here. The workshop continued to be held at ACS National Meetings with different graduate researcher facilitators.

Jessica A. Martin began working closely with Dr. Miller to coordinate, and eventually take over general management of the workshop. They also interviewed graduate researcher leaders of LST teams as a means of learning more about the movement and improving the offerings of the workshop. This resulted in a publication about LSTs that can be found here.

As 2020 approached, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a rapid shift to a virtual world. Starting with the Spring 2020 ACS National Meeting, Jessica worked with the Facilitators for that workshop to rapidly convert the workshop to a virtual format. Additionally, graduate researchers representing 12 different LSTs came together to write another peer-reviewed publication that can be found here discussing how the teams have survived the stress test introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

As interest in the workshop continued to blossom in the academic community, it was recognized that the virtual version could reach a wider audience and be held independent of conferences. Jessica recruited known and active advocates in the ACS safety community to constitute a Mentorship Team to continue to improve the workshop. Graduate researchers involved in the LST leadership at their own institutions were also regularly recruited to serve as Facilitators and Moderators to share their experiences and improve their own professional skills. The workshop was renamed “Empowering Academic Researchers to Strengthen Safety Culture” in recognition of the changes made to it.

The 2^nd Peer-Led Workshop

In 2021, Taysir Bader, Catherine Wilhelm, Kerry Betz, Whitney Hess, Haim Weizman, and Ralph Stuartdeveloped a second workshop called “RAMP Risk Management in the Research Lab”. with funding from an ACS Innovative Project Grant.  The goal of the grant was to identify how to use the RAMP paradigm as both an educational and operational tool for chemists in higher education.

The workshop used the same peer-led structure developed in the first workshop, recruiting graduate researchers to help run the workshops as Workshop Leaders, Facilitators, and Moderators. This workshop is also supported by the Mentorship Team. This workshop has been successfully delivered virtually and in-person to both general audiences and specific universities. 

2023 Peer-Led Workshops

For 2022 and 2023, Monica Nyansa of the Michigan Technological University is serving as the Workshop Leader for “Empowering Academic Researchers to Strengthen Safety Culture”. She has described her experience with the workshop as part of her professional development in a posting for the ACS Chemistry Grad and Postdoc blog. 

For 2022 and 2023, Brady Bresnahan of the University of Minnesota is serving as the Workshop Leader for “RAMP Risk Management in the Research Lab”. 

Listed below are all of the individuals who have helped run the workshops as Workshop Leaders, Facilitators, and Moderators. Below that is a list of the fantastic Mentorship Team members!

Please check our workshop schedule for information and registration for the latest workshops!

Workshop date (year, month)	Role	Name	Institution	Team name
2024.11 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Ranjana Burman	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2024.11 (Virtual) LST	Faciliator	Mahmood Norouzi	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2024.11 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Umesha Kumbalathara	The University of Toledo	Graduate Student Safety Team
2024.11 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Deep Shikha Srivastava	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2024.11 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Mayowa Anifowose	Georgia Institute of Technology	Graduate Student Safety Team
2024.11 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Hafiza Zahra Rab Nawaz	University of South Florida	EHS
2024.11 (Virtual) LST	Workshop Leader	Babatunde Samuel Obadawo	The University of Toledo	Graduate Student Safety Team
2024.08 (Virtual) RAMP	Workshop Leader	Kris Elbein	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2024.08 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Sadia Afrin	University of South Dakota
2024.08 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Omowunmi Rebecca Aworinde	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2024.08 (Virtual) RAMP	Facilitator	Olajumoke M. Ayeni	University of North Texas
2024.08 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Anelisse Claros	University of Arkansas	Engineering Safety Club
2024.08 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Mayowa Ezekiel Oladipo	Florida International University	Environmental Health and Safety
2024.08 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Karin Stoddart	Seattle University
2024.08 (Virtual) RAMP	Facilitator	Annesha Sengupta	Texas A&M University	Chemistry Student Safety Committee
2024.06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Ranjana Burman	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2024.06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Mahmood Norouzi	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2024.06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Adonis Amoli	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2024.06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Prince Frederick Kwao	University of North Dakota	Chemistry Laboratory Safety
2024.06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Umesha Kumbalathara	The University of Toledo	Graduate Student Safety Team
2024.06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Eugene Oga	University of North Dakota	Chemistry Laboratory Safety
2024.06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Esther Yirenkyiwaa Addo	University of North Dakota	Chemistry Laboratory Safety
2024.06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Herbert Che Mughe	University of North Dakota	Chemistry Laboratory Safety
2024.06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Deep Shikha Srivastava	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2024.06 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Marilyn Naeem	University of Massachusetts Dartmouth	UMass EH&S
2024.06 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Srijana Pandey	Ohio University	Facilities Management and Safety
2024.06 (Virtual) LST	Workshop Leader	Babatunde Samuel Obadawo	The University of Toledo	Graduate Student Safety Team
2024.04 (Virtual) RAMP	Facilitator	Qaisar Maqbool	University of South Florida	EHS
2024.04 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Omowunmi Rebecca Aworinde	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2024.04 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Kaimin Jia	University of California, Berkeley	Lab Safety Coordinator
2024.04 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Olajumoke M. Ayeni	University of North Texas
2024.04 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Anelisse Claros	University of Arkansas	Engineering Safety Club
2024.04 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Yuri Lee	UCLA	UCLA EHS
2024.04 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Annesha Sengupta	Texas A&M University	Chemistry Student Safety Committee
2024.04 (Virtual) RAMP	Facilitator	Maya Butler	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2024.04 (Virtual) RAMP	Workshop Leader	Kris Elbein	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2024.04 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Mahadi Hasan	University of South Dakota
2024.03 (Virtual) LST	Leader	Babatunde Samuel Obadawo	The University of Toledo	Graduate Student Safety Team
2024.03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Ranjana Burman	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2024.03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Christian McCoy	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2024.03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Mahmood Norouzi	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2024.03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Adonis Amoli	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2024.03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Prince Frederick Kwao	University of North Dakota	Office of Safety
2024.03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Umesha Kumbalathara	The University of Toledo	Graduate Student Safety Team
2024.03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Mahadi Hasan	University of South Dakota
2024.03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Nafisa Bala	University of North Dakota	Office of Safety
2024.03 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Caroline Donaghy	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2024.03 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Srijana Pandey	Ohio University	Facilities Management and Safety
2023.10 (Virtual) LST	Leader	Monica Nyansa	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2023.10 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Babatunde Samuel Obadawo	The University of Toledo
2023.10 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Caroline Donaghy	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2023.10 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Masha Aleksich	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2023.10 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Muhammad Qasim Ali	Texas Tech University
2023.10 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Srijana Pandey	Ohio University
2023.10 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Marilyn Naeem	University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
2023.10 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Adonis Amoli	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2023.10 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Antigoni Konstantinou	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2023.10 (In Person) RAMP	Leader	Brady Bresnahan	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2023.10 (In Person) RAMP	Facilitator	Emily Piner	North Carolina State University
2023.10 (In Person) RAMP	Facilitator	Emma Murphy	University of North Carolina Chapel Hill	UNC Joint Safety Team
2023.08 (Virtual) RAMP	Leader	Brady Bresnahan	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2023.08 (Virtual) RAMP	Facilitator	Emily Piner	North Carolina State University
2023.08 (Virtual) RAMP	Facilitator	Emma Murphy	University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
2023.08 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Samya Samanta	Texas A&M University	Chemistry Student Safety Committee
2023.08 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Hanne Henricksen	UNC Chapel Hill	UNC Joint Safety Team
2023.08 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Muhammad Zaeem Idrees	University of Idaho
2023.08 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Mustapha Abdulmojeed	North Carolina State University
2023.08 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	QAISAR MAQBOOL	University of south florida
2023.08 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Anelisse Claros	University of Arkansas	Engineering Safety Club
2023.08 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Maya Butler	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2023.08 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Ivan Cockman	North Carolina State University
2023.06 (In Person) LST	Leader	Monica Nyansa	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2023.06 (In Person) LST	Facilitator	Brady Bresnahan	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2023.06 (In Person) LST	Moderator	Babatunde Samuel Obadawo	The University of Toledo
2023.06 (In Person) LST	Moderator	Jessica Martin	Mentorship Team Member
2023. 04 (Virtual) RAMP	Leader	Brady Bresnahan	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2023. 04 (Virtual) RAMP	Facilitator	Kris Elbein	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2023. 04 (Virtual) RAMP	Facilitator	Aishanee Sur	Texas A & M Univerity	Chemistry Student Safety Committee
2023. 04 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Gretchen Burke	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2023. 04 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Kyle Seabourn	University of Idaho
2023. 04 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Maya Butler	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2023. 04 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Rain Talosig	University of California, Irvine	Graduate Safety Team
2023. 04 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Sofia Estela Ramirez Lopez	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2023. 04 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Yuri Lee	The Ohio State University
2023. 04 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Eleni Spanolios	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2023. 04 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Qaisar Maqbool	University of South Florida
2023. 03 (Virtual) LST	Leader	Monica Nyansa	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2023. 03 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Adelina Oronova	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2023. 03 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Christy Dyer	The University of Memphis	University of Memphis Joint Safety Team
2023. 03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Jamiu Oyetoro	University of Ibadan
2023. 03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Srijana Pandey	Ohio University
2023. 03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Babatunde Samuel Obadawo	The University of Toledo
2023. 03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Popoola Olamilekan Emmanuel	University of Ibadan
2023. 03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Prosenjit Ray	Auburn University
2023. 03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Caroline Donaghy	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2023. 03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Qaisar Maqbool	University of South Florida
2022. 11 (Virtual) RAMP	Leader	Brady Bresnahan	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2022. 11 (Virtual) RAMP	Facilitator	Hossain Shadman	The University of Memphis	University of Memphis Joint Safety Team
2022. 11 (Virtual) RAMP	Facilitator	Kris Elbein	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2022. 11 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Murphi Williams	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2022. 11 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Rain Talosig	University of California, Irvine	Graduate Safety Team
2022. 11 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Calla McCulley	Mentorship Team Member
2022. 11 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Amanda Chung	Mentorship Team Member
2022. 11 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Ralph Stuart	Mentorship Team Member
2022. 11 (Virtual) RAMP	Moderator	Samuella Sigmann	Mentorship Team Member
2022. 10 (Virtual) LST	Leader	Monica Nyansa	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2022. 10 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Alex Leon Ruiz	University of California, Los Angeles	Joint Research Safety Initiative (JRSI)
2022. 10 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Adelina Oronova	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2022. 10 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Saghar Gomrok	The University of Memphis	University of Memphis Joint Safety Team
2022. 10 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Jamiu Oyetoro	University of Ibadan
2022. 10 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Popoola Olamilekan Emmanuel	University of Ibadan
2022. 10 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Christy Dyer	The University of Memphis	University of Memphis Joint Safety Team
2022. 10 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Srijana Pandey	Ohio University
2022. 10 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Babatunde Samuel Obadawo	The University of Toledo	ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND RADIATION SAFETY
2022. 07 (In Person) RAMP	Facilitator	Taysir Bader	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2022. 07 (In Person) RAMP	Facilitator	Brady Bresnahan	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2022. 06 (Virtual) LST	Leader	Monica Nyansa	Michigan Technological University
2022. 06 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Hossain Shadman	The University of Memphis	University of Memphis Joint Safety Team
2022. 06 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Amanda Chung	University of California, Irvine	Graduate Safety Team
2022. 06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Dinesh Gautam	Ohio University
2022. 06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Christy Dyer	The University of Memphis	University of Memphis Joint Safety Team
2022. 06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Brady Bresnahan	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2022. 06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Ashan Wettasinghe	University of Texas at Dallas
2022. 06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Melissa Alfonso	The University of Memphis	University of Memphis Joint Safety Team
2022. 06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Adelina Oronova	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2022. 03 (Virtual) LST	Leader	Monica Nyansa	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2022. 03 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Rachel Wiley	The University of Memphis	University of Memphis Joint Safety Team
2022. 03 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Alex Leon Ruiz	University of California, Los Angeles	Joint Research Safety Initiative (JRSI)
2022. 03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Hossain Shadman	The University of Memphis	University of Memphis Joint Safety Team
2022. 03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Amanda Chung	University of California, Irvine	Graduate Safety Team
2022. 03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Abhijeet Patil	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2022. 03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Saghar Gomrok	The University of Memphis	University of Memphis Joint Safety Team
2022. 03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Hemanta Timsina	University of Arkansas	Engineering Safety Club
2022. 03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Farouq Busari	University of Ibadan (Nigeria)
2022. 03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Jessica Martin	Mentorship Team Member
2022. 03 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Tammy Lutz-Rechtin	Mentorship Team Member
2022. 01 (In Person) RAMP	Facilitator	Taysir Bader	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2022. 01 (In Person) RAMP	Facilitator	Catherine Wilhelm	University of Michigan
2021. 11 (Virtual) RAMP	Facilitator	Taysir Bader	University of Minnesota	Chemistry and CEMS Joint Safety Team
2021. 11 (Virtual) RAMP	Facilitator	Catherine Wilhelm	University of Michigan
2021. 10 (Virtual) LST	Leader	Jessica Martin	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2021. 10 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Monica Nyansa	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2021. 10 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Calla McCulley	University of Texas at Austin	Chemistry Student Safety Organization (CSSO)
2021. 10 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Austin Moyle	Washington University in St. Louis	Chemistry Peer Review Safety Group (CPRSG)
2021. 10 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Abhijeet Patil	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2021. 10 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Rachel Wiley	The University of Memphis	University of Memphis Joint Safety Team
2021. 10 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Maggi Braasch-Turi	Colorado State University
2021. 10 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Melissa Alfonso	The University of Memphis	University of Memphis Joint Safety Team
2021. 10 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Hemanta Timsina	University of Arkansas	Engineering Safety Club
2021. 10 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Adelina Oronova	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2021. 10 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Farouq Busari	University of Ibadan (Nigeria)
2021. 06 (Virtual) LST	Leader	Jessica Martin	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2021. 06 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Lindsey Applegate	University of Iowa	Chemical Safety and Responsibility Stewards (CSARS)
2021. 06 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Jessica DeYoung	University of Iowa	Chemical Safety and Responsibility Stewards (CSARS)
2021. 06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Taysir Bader	University of Minnesota	Joint Safety Team
2021. 06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Abhijeet Patil	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2021. 06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Monica Nyansa	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2021. 06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Calla McCulley	University of Texas at Austin	Chemistry Student Safety Organization (CSSO)
2021. 06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Rachel Wiley	The University of Memphis	University of Memphis Graduate Safety Team
2021. 06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Austin Moyle	Washington University in St. Louis	Chemistry Peer Review Safety Group (CPRSG)
2021. 06 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Maggi Braasch-Turi	Colorado State University
2021. 02 (Virtual) LST	Leader	Jessica Martin	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2021. 02 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Alex Leon Ruiz	UCLA	Joint Research Safety Initiative
2021. 02 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Dagen Hughes	University of Iowa	Chemical Safety and Responsibility Stewards (CSARS)
2021. 02 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Lindsey Applegate	University of Iowa	Chemical Safety and Responsibility Stewards (CSARS)
2021. 02 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Jessica DeYoung	University of Iowa	Chemical Safety and Responsibility Stewards (CSARS)
2021. 02 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Cristian Aviles-Martin	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2021. 02 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Taysir Bader	University of Minnesota	Joint Safety Team
2021. 02 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Melissa Alfonso	University of Memphis	University of Memphis Joint Safety Team
2021. 02 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Abhijeet Patil	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2021. 02 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Monica Nyansa	Michigan Technological University	MTU Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (MTU CGSC)
2021. 02 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Calla McCulley	University of Texas at Austin	Chemistry Student Safety Organization (CSSO)
2020. 11 (Virtual) LST	Leader	Jessica Martin	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2020. 11 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Sarah Zinn	University of Chicago	The Joint Research Safety Initiative
2020. 11 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Jessica DeYoung	University of Iowa	Chemical Safety and Responsibility Stewards (CSARS)
2020. 11 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Marta Gmurczyk	Mentorship Team Member
2020. 11 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Mary Beth Koza	Mentorship Team Member
2020. 11 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Lindsey Applegate	University of Iowa	Chemical Safety and Responsibility Stewards (CSARS)
2020. 11 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Dagen Hughes	University of Iowa	Chemical Safety and Responsibility Stewards (CSARS)
2020. 11 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Kali Miller	Mentorship Team Member
2020. 11 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	David Finster	Mentorship Team Member
2020. 11 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Cristian Aviles-Martin	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2020. 11 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Alex Leon Ruiz	UCLA	Joint Research Safety Initiative
2020. 08 (Virtual) LST	Leader	Jessica Martin	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2020. 08 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Cristian Aviles-Martin	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2020. 08 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Alex Leon Ruiz	UCLA	Joint Research Safety Initiative
2020. 08 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Sarah Zinn	University of Chicago	The Joint Research Safety Initiative
2020. 08 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Jessica DeYoung	University of Iowa	Chemical Safety and Responsibility Stewards (CSARS)
2020. 08 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Kali Miller	Mentorship Team Member
2020. 08 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Marta Gmurczyk	Mentorship Team Member
2020. 08 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Sammye Sigmann	Mentorship Team Member
2020. 08 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	David Finster	Mentorship Team Member
2020. 08 (Virtual) LST	Moderator	Ralph Stuart	Mentorship Team Member
2020. 03 (Virtual) LST	Leader	Jessica Martin	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2020. 03 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Victor Beaumont	Yale University	Chemistry Joint Safety Team
2020. 03 (Virtual) LST	Facilitator	Veronica Hayes	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2019. 08 (In Person) LST	Leader	Kali Miller	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	Chemistry Joint Safety Team
2019. 08 (In Person) LST	Facilitator	Jessica Martin	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2019. 08 (In Person) LST	Facilitator	Chandra Karki	The University of South Dakota
2019. 06 (In Person) LST	Leader	Kali Miller	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	Chemistry Joint Safety Team
2019. 06 (In Person) LST	Facilitator	Jessica Martin	University of Connecticut	Joint Safety Team
2019. 06 (In Person) LST	Facilitator	David Finster	Mentorship Team Member
2019. 03 (In Person) LST	Leader	Kali Miller	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	Chemistry Joint Safety Team
2019. 03 (In Person) LST	Facilitator	Kendra Denlinger	Xavier University
2018. 08 (In Person) LST	Leader	Kali Miller	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	Chemistry Joint Safety Team
2018. 08 (In Person) LST	Facilitator	Kaitlin Tyler	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	Chemistry Joint Safety Team
2018. 03 (In Person) LST	Leader	Kali Miller	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	Chemistry Joint Safety Team
2018. 03 (In Person) LST	Facilitator	Michail Vlysidis	University of Minnesota	Joint Safety Team

Description of Roles:

Leader: Recruits and trains Facilitators and Moderators; manages updates to workshop content; organizes logistics; communicates with participants before and after workshop as needed; manages technology during the workshop; leads pre-workshop practice and post-workshop review sessions for Facilitators with the Mentorship Team

Facilitator: Student researchers who have previously attended the workshop and served as Moderators, participate in updates to workshop content through pre-workshop practice and post-workshop review sessions with the Leader and Mentorship Team; delivers workshop content to live audience; facilitates small group and large group activities and discussion during the workshop.

Moderator (Position created for virtual workshops): Student researchers who have previously attended the workshop who now serve in the practice audience for pre-workshop practice sessions and participate in post-workshop review sessions; contribute to updates to workshop content; monitor Breakout Room activities during the workshop.

Mentorship Team: This team is a group of senior CHAS members and other safety professionals who support the workshop leaders with content review and advice and who also serve as back-up moderators for virtual workshops.

Meet some of our mentors –

Samuella B. Sigmann retired from Appalachian State University in 2022 where she worked in the Chemistry Department for more than 30 years. Prior to retirement she was the Stockroom Director, a Senior Lecturer, and the departmental Chemical Hygiene Officer. She self describes as a chemical safety educator. As the 2022-2024 Chair of the ACS Committee on Chemical Safety, she has worked on numerous projects for the ACS to produce educational safety materials for students at all educational levels. Mentoring the graduate students in the Peer Led workshops has been an opportunity to ensure that the next generation of researchers and educators have the necessary competencies chemical safety competencies.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuella-sigmann-75932220/
Publications here: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9705-2477
Committee on Chemical Safety
Division of Chemical Health and Safety

Amanda Chung is the Chemical Hygiene Officer at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, was a 2022 LST Workshop moderator and facilitator and has been a mentor for the peer-led workshops since 2023.

Tammy Lutz-Rechtin is the safety coordinator and an educator in the Ralph E. Martin Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Arkansas, with over 30 years of experience in chemical and biological research and safety education. She is passionate about integrating safety into engineering design and working directly with faculty, staff, and students to foster a culture of safety.

2024 Mentorship Team

• Samuella Sigmann
• Dwayne Henry
• Amanda Chung
• Bridget Morris
• Adelina Oronova
• Marta Gyurczyk

2023 Mentorship Team

• Amanda Chung
• Calla McCulley
• Catherine Wilhelm
• Dwayne Henry
• Jessica Martin
• Kali Miller
• Marta Gmurczyk
• Mary Beth Koza
• Sammye Sigmann
• Sara Johnson
• Sarah Zinn
• Tammy Lutz-Rechtin
• Taysir Bader
• Tilak Chandra
• Ken Kretchman

2022 Mentorship Team

• Marta Gmurczyk
• Kali A. Miller
• Jessica Martin
• Tammy M. Lutz-Rechtin
• Dwayne Henry

2021 Mentorship Team

• Kali A. Miller
• David Finster
• Marta Gmurczyk
• Mary Beth Koza
• Ralph Stuart 
• Samuella Sigmann