Chemical Engineering Receives Presidential Safety Award

The Department of Chemical Engineering (CHE) supports the mission of teaching and research with spaces expanded in five campus buildings. The department commits to providing a safe environment for the students, staff, and faculty, and safety has become an indispensable component of the department's culture. TTU CHE is one of the few programs in the nation that includes Process Safety a core requirement in the undergraduate curriculum. With the goal of being a leader in safety on campus, CHE was the first department to work with EHS to provide hands-on training to the Lab Safety Captains and the first department to pilot the RRAMP / SafetyStratus system before campus-wide implementation for both surveys and risk assessments.

The strong record of “excellence in safety” in the CHE department is showcased by receiving multiple college and university-level safety awards including the 2021 Presidential Departmental Excellence in Safety Award and the 2022 inaugural Texas Tech Safety Spotlight Award.

Funding Impact

The award funding received was utilized to continually maintain a safe place and nurture a strong safety culture as explained below:

• purchase safety supplies and equipment including fire extinguisher, first aid kit, blast shield/safety curtain, gas detectors, flammable safety cabinet, sharp containers and chemical transport cart
• purchase an iPad for conducting internal safety walkthroughs
• establish a centralized safety station with safety information cards/ brochures and additional safety supplies
• host various safety-related events like “Lab Clean-up Day” and safety trivia games

Chemical Engineering hosted a Safety Trivia event for students, winners are pictured above