Lab Assistant (Class IV)

Purpose or role of the position within the organization.

Duties and responsibilities associated with the position and how they relate to the purpose or role.

• Job Description: The lab assistant will be assigned to support the Intensive General Chemistry Laboratory course (UN1507), a student-centered class, aimed at motivating first-year undergraduates to pursue a career in chemistry. The lab assistant will report to the instructor of the course as well as to the senior lab tech. The lab assistant will be responsible for general lab maintenance as well as giving support to the needs of the educational chemistry experiments performed in the course. One successful strategy used to enhance student interest in chemistry in the course has been the use of marine and freshwater tanks located in the instructional lab in 302 Havemeyer Hall. The tanks are utilized to contextualize atomic absorption spectroscopy and electrochemistry within the ecology of aquatic environments. The students collect samples from the tanks and perform standard operating procedures to analyze the salinity, pH, alkalinity, metals, and ions in solution. The main role of the lab assistant is to assure the health of the tanks’ inhabitants (invertebrate, soft corals, plants, and fish) by keeping a close maintenance schedule, working approximately 10 hours per week on average. The lab assistant will report to the instructor of the course as well as to the senior lab tech. The lab assistant will be expected but not limited to perform the following tank maintenance tasks on a weekly basis: remove detritus; scrub and scrape inside walls of tanks to remove algae; empty and rinse-clean collection cup of protein skimmer; remove and rinse-clean charcoal, organic, and sponge filters of water filter; add supplemental solutions to tanks; wipe down outside of tanks and nearby surfaces with wet paper towels and dry with paper towels; perform 5-10% water changes (adjusting for salinity in the marine tanks); and check all supporting equipment are plugged in and operational (timer, lights, heater, turbine, water filter, protein skimmer). In addition to feeding the fish on a semi-daily basis there are other tasks that need to be performed monthly and by semester, which are not listed above. Additionally the lab assistant can be asked to participate in general lab maintenance in the spaces supporting the course.

General qualifications for the position and the specific qualifications for the various levels or rates of pay associated with the position.

• Job requirements:
• To qualify, applicants should have already completed some undergraduate chemistry laboratory coursework (preferably UN1507). Requires basic Knowledge of Chemistry and Laboratory Procedures. NOTE: In addition to submitting online application TO APPLY FOR THIS POSITION PLEASE EMAIL RESUME TO [email protected] AND PUT WORK STUDY JOB APPLICANT IN SUBJECT LINE