Lab Policies

Rules of the lab

    1. When you walk into the lab, introduce yourself to anyone there who you don't know

    2. If someone you don't know walks into the lab, introduce yourself to them

    3. Do good research

    4. Learn

    5. Keep the lab reasonably clean

    6. Maintain an excellent project notebook

    7. Know the literature

    8. Know why you are doing what you are doing

    9. Share your knowledge

    10. Be safe

    11. Have fun

More policies

    1. Project notebooks become the property of the lab after you have finished.

    2. At the end of your project, you write a document that might be a report, a thesis, a manuscript ready for submission to a journal, or some combination of the above. Make at least two hard copies; one for the lab and one for Durfee.

    3. When your project is complete, archive everything you did on a CD: project writeup, thesis, data used in plots and charts, software sources, drawing files, …and everything else.

    4. If you find something in the lab that is broken, take responsibility for fixing it, even if you are not sure how. We have no technicians in the lab so it’s up to us to keep everything in good, working order.

    5. Use of tools and computers for home or entrepreneurial projects that have nothing to do with your research is encouraged.

    6. Anything you build should be well documented. This includes software, electronics and mechanics. Ask for model examples of good documentation.

    7. Anything you build should have a complete Bill-of-Materials (BOM). See lab web site for samples.

    8. Please use the power tools…but be safe. Ask if unsure. Working with a power tool alone and late at night is risky.

    9. Anyone working on or near a fluid power project should complete this safety training: link. Also read this six-part series on hydraulic safety: link.

Keys

The lab is available 24/7, but is always locked. To get a key, fill in the key request form and deliver a hard copy to Durfee.

Cleaning

The lab is not cleaned by the custodial staff, which means it is up to us to keep it clean. Lab keyholders are on the cleaning crew, which means that on occasion you will be asked to spend a few hours cleaning the entire lab. For the procedure, consult the lab cleaning form.

Purchasing

To buy things, in order, these are the preferred purchasing methods:

  1. UMarket. Assign cart to Durfee who will take it from there.

    1. ECE Depot. An on-campus store for electronic parts.

    2. CDes Workshop. An on-campus store for some materials

    3. Purchase Order. See ME accounting staff, or the lab administrator (Tori) for instructions.

    4. Durfee P-Card. Durfee can purchase items with his corporate P-Card, a Visa credit card. For example, amazon.com items can be purchased this way.

    5. Pay cash and be reimbursed. Save your receipt. Warning: the reimbursement process is slow. See ME accounting staff, or the lab administrator (Tori) for instructions.

Note: Watch out for shipping charges on small items. For example, not good to order a $0.20 screw from McMaster and get hit with $10 shipping.