MIDLAND, Mich. and SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - July 23, 2012
The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) and UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) are are working on a pilot program to improve laboratory safety awareness and practices in the College of Engineering and in the Departments of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Materials.
"The lab safety partnership with Dow underlines the College of Engineering's dedication to a culture of laboratory safety that aligns with industry best practices," said Rod Alferness, dean of the College of Engineering. "Striving for the highest possible standards positions UCSB as a lab safety leader among academic research institutions."
Dow's best practices focus on incident prevention and on spurring a high level of engagement in safety awareness among faculty and students. Dow has similar safety partnerships under way with the University of Minnesota and Penn State University.
"Partnering with leading U.S. universities is central to Dow's goal to strengthen research in scientific fields important to Dow and the nation's future," said Dr. William F. Banholzer, Ph.D., executive vice president and chief technology officer at Dow. "Dow recognizes that laboratory safety is a continuing challenge for universities everywhere, and we have the expertise to be part of the solution."
This partnership with UCSB reinforces Dow's commitment to stimulate collaborative innovation with U.S. universities. In October, Dow awarded UCSB $15 million to establish the Dow Materials Institute to advance the education of scientists and engineers and to promote the discovery of revolutionary new materials. Also in October, Dow announced that it would invest $250 million over the course of 10 years among 11 academic institutions, including UCSB, that have demonstrated excellence in research and in science and engineering education.
"Our alliance with Dow enables UCSB to stay at the forefront of materials research, but is also critical to the world-class educational mission of the University," said Craig Hawker, professor of materials and director of UCSB's Materials Research Laboratory. "This innovative partnership is a tremendous opportunity to work with Dow, an industry leader in safety practices, bringing a renewed culture of safety awareness to UCSB and providing our students with the best preparation for their future careers."
University laboratory safety has improved steadily over the last two decades, thanks largely to the enactment of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Laboratory Safety Act in 1990. However, a significant difference in safety awareness and responsibility is still observed when personnel transition from academic to industrial laboratory settings.
Through this laboratory safety partnership, UCSB will form an interdepartmental team, with graduate students and faculty from each participating department. Working with Dow, the team will establish a baseline on safety culture and behavior, and then develop a program to address critical needs. In addition, Dow will host members of the UCSB team at its sites to share its best practices and collaborate on ways to adapt those practices to a university setting.
For more information on Dow's industry-leading partnerships with universities, visit www.dow.com/innovation/partnership.
About Dow
Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines the power of science and technology to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2011, Dow had annual sales of $60 billion and employed approximately 52,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 197 sites in 36 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.
For Editorial Information:
Fernão Silveira
The Dow Chemical Company
1-989-638-1006
FSilveira@dow.com