College Honors MSE Graduate Students for Excellence in Safety
The University of California, Davis, College of Engineering has selected Emma Bernard and Nushrat Naushin, both Ph.D. students in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, to receive the 2025 Excellence in Graduate Student Safety Award.
The Graduate Student Excellence Awards celebrate doctoral students who have made outstanding contributions to research, service, safety, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Bernard and Naushin jointly serve as lab safety coordinators in Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Roopali Kukreja's research group. From issuing proper training to lab users to identifying and proactively addressing issues, and establishing standards of practice for instruments, they are prime examples of a strong commitment to fostering a secure and responsible research environment.
Notably, the pair found that an experimental compound, neodymium nickelate, had turned into powder inside a machine used for growing thin films. Bernard and Naushin immediately issued a stop-work order and contacted Kukreja and the department safety coordinator to establish a protocol to remove the powder and clean the system. They worked together to ensure the system was cleaned correctly and to acquire personal protective equipment to keep lab workers safe from potentially hazardous materials.
Said Kukreja: "Their collaborative work truly demonstrates the collaborative spirit of UC Davis."