Human Lives are Priceless!
Human Lives are Priceless!
  • Reporter Song Sung-chan
  • 승인 2018.09.19 22:01
  • 댓글 0
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Prof. Kim Jee-hoon in the MFM laboratory
Prof. Kim Jee-hoon in the MFM laboratory

 

This May, the Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM) laboratory at POSTECH was selected as outstanding safety management. Under the supervision of Professor Kim Jee-hoon of the  Physics department, the students feel safe doing researches in the MFM laboratory.

Professor Kim confidently asserted that the lab safety is momentous because “people’s lives are the priority,” and elaborated that human lives are “priceless” and that once one gets hurt, there is no turning back.

According to Prof. Kim the first step to safety is assessing any expected threats and eliminating them. For instance, gas cylinders are at a risk of explosion because of their high-pressure so must not be carried around. In his laboratory, they are tightly tied to the wall and pipes are used to deliver the gases. As of liquid helium and liquid nitrogen, they expand and become gases when exposed to heat, and extrude oxygen out of the room, putting people at a risk of asphyxiation. When helium and nitrogen slowly take over the room, the person in the room will only feel drowsy without realizing that it is from the lack of oxygen, not sleep debt. To prevent such scenario, the MFM lab has an oximeter installed to alarm the researchers once the oxygen level is too low. He also advised students to never be alone in the lab. 

One of the safety aspects of MFM laboratory that Prof. Kim feels most proud of is the self-made toolbox that allows an effective organization. The lab cleaning that once took hours only require thirty minutes thanks to the tool box. The toolbox is very visual and organized so that people can easily find where a tool belongs.

Prof. Kim believes that students’ minds are the most important in safety and wants them to know that their lives are more valuable than anything in the lab and asks them to be active in keeping the lab safe.