Before you can work in Cory Hall labs, you’ll need to understand the buildings policies for emergencies:
1. Familiarize yourself with the Building Emergency Plan (BEP) and Injury and Illness Prevention Plan (IIPP).
2. Afterwards, submit this form confirming that you have read these two fundamental safety policies.
3. Once you’ve reviewed these, please send Jessica Gamble (jessicagamble@berkeley.edu) the following:
– Name
– E-mail
– Student ID #
– Proxy #(6 digits on back of your cal ID)
– How long you’ll be working with the lab.
Make sure to CC the graduate student you’re working with so they can follow up with Jessica.
You’ll need to complete the ethics training to not exploit or harm the human subjects who aid your research. From the Internal Review Board website:
“UC Berkeley faculty (with some exceptions), staff, and students engaged in human subjects research must complete either the biomedical or social-behavioral human research course, depending upon which is most germane to the research, through the online Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI). All study personnel must register and pass the quizzes before CPHS will grant research approval or determination of exemption.
To get started with CITI, please review our CITI Login Instructions and then proceed to the CITI Online Course.
For those who completed a CITI Human Research course at another institution
The user should contact CITI Program to transfer modules in common. The user will need to complete the UC Berkeley course by completing any outstanding modules as applicable.
Upon first logging in or adding the course (as described in the CITI Login Instructions) you will be asked four questions about the nature of our research. The appropriate answers are:
1. We do behavioral research so we fall under “Group 2: Social and Behavioral Research Investigators”
2. We don’t work with vertebrate animals (besides humans of course, but that’s not what they’re talking about)
3. Our research is not funded by the NSF or the NIH as of May 2019.
4. We are not doing clinical studies so answer “Not at this time” to the question about Good Clinical Practice.
There are 17 Modules to complete. It is most crucial for you to read through the “Students in Research” module thoroughly.
Part of moving from theory to practice are increased consequences. Academia and UC Berkeley works to ensure that researchers can take risks without actually risking anything. While this is easy for theory or pure computer science, physical hardware comes with what would otherwise be risks if we didn’t mitigate them through care. Be mindful that you are responsible for the health and safety of yourself and those around you. For the specific equipment in our lab:
– When soldering, ensure that the windows are open to provide sufficient ventilation. The soldering iron heats at more than 600 degrees Fahrenheit, so be careful with exposed skin. If you burn yourself there are icepacks in the Cory 337 freezer, although cool (not cold) running water will treat it more effectively. Lightly apply a gauze bandage from the bright blue first-aid kit hanging in the lab. You can reach campus emergency medical care at (510) 642-3188
– When flying the Crazyflies, protect your eyes with safety goggles (kept by the entrance to your immediate left). Protect the denizens of the courtyard by closing the windows to prevent rogue drones from crashing down there.
– When flying the larger Matrice drones, protect your entire body by being physically separated with a net, as in Cory 391. If flying outdoors, complete the pre-flight checklist.
– Do not store Li-Ion batteries at full charge for weeks, as this stresses the battery cells. We recommend storing Li-Ion batteries at 40% charge.
Be careful not to puncture Li-Ion cells as this can cause cells to short and lead to thermal runaway (burning/explosions) and toxic outgassing. In the event of a Li-Ion fire, keep your distance. Once initiated, the fire cannot be doused [1] and must burn itself out. Instead focus on preventing the jetting flames from catching the surroundings on fire. These fires can be doused with any liquid on hand (as the FAA recommends to airline attendants). If possible, place the battery in the isolation bucket of sand. Before using the batteries check the body for puffing or heat that might indicate an internal short. Before plugging in the batteries, use the multimeter to check for external shorts.
– Your eyes will be less strained by computer monitors if every 20 minutes you take 20 seconds to stare a distance farther than 20 feet (the so called 20/20/20 rule). Please take care of yourself.
The goal for our engineering work is to make an impact on the community – whether that be the community of researchers or the wider populace who will use our technology. High impact work can impact to change for the better or can impact to crush. It is our responsibility to ensure it is the former. Always thoroughly test that your product will actually work robustly and safely before launching it outside of the safe play-ground of our lab:
– For the research community, ensure your papers don’t spread misinformation.
– For the populace of users, guarantee that your product works safely before they use it. Validating on the job is unacceptable.
Dial 911 from any phone (on or off campus) to report an imminent threat to life or property.
From a cell phone, dial direct for faster emergency response:
UC Berkeley Police: (510) 642-3333
City of Berkeley Police/Fire: (510) 981-5911
Alameda County Sheriff: (510) 667-7721
UC Berkeley Police: (510) 642-6760
City of Berkeley Police: (510) 981-5900