The CSSC is open to all undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, and researchers in the Chemistry Department and related fields. This includes researchers affiliated with other departments who are working in Chemistry Department spaces. All members are subject to the guidelines and requirements laid out in the CSSC Constitution (last updated: September 2023).

General guidelines

Active members are those who:

1. Participate in general group meetings to help determine the direction of the group’s projects
2. Join a subcommittee and provide their expertise in executing the subgroup’s projects.
3. Act as a safety advocate and good example to others in their lab.
4. Support group activities by helping set up or tear down events, write/edit documents, and participate in outreach to the public.
5. Read emails sent from the committee and communicate using the committee slack channel.

Time requirements (graduate and postdoctoral)

General committee members are expected to devote a total of 2-3 hours per month on committee-related work. A suggested breakdown is as follows:

• 1 hour attendance at monthly meeting
• 1 hour work with subcommittee members and Chair on subgroup tasks
• 1 hour as needed on initiatives or outreach in the individual’s lab

Executive Board members are expected to devote a total of 4-5 hours per month on committee-related work. A suggested breakdown is as follows:

• 1 hour attendance at monthly meeting
• 1 hour work with subcommittee members on subgroup tasks
• 1 hour administrative/organizational tasks
• 1 hour as needed on initiatives or outreach in the individual’s lab
• As-needed Executive Board meeting, at most monthly

Time requirements (undergraduate)

Undergraduate members are not subject to a monthly time requirement. Instead, an undergraduate safety captain will be paired with a graduate or doctoral mentor and must:

• attend a one day mandatory orientation the summer before they begin their position
• act as a link between the undergraduate students in research/teaching labs and the CSSC
• be available to collect safety issue concerns from other undergraduates working in any research or teaching lab in the department
• aid their mentor in any safety tasks in their lab (i.e. eye wash checks, waste disposal, etc.)
• attend CSSC monthly meetings and their subgroup meetings, time permitting.

Undergraduates who meet the above requirements are considered participants in the Undergraduate Safety Captain Program (USCP) and receive a certificate from the Chemistry Department Chair.