(Left/1): Carolina Vigil Hernandez (second from left) at the glassware cleaning demonstration station at Safety Day. (Right/2): The personal protective equipment demonstration station at Safety Day.
Texas ChE sponsored the first graduate student, Carolina Vigil Hernandez, to complete a safety certificate program that was recently launched in partnership with industry and other universities. The program provides advanced learning opportunities to strengthen laboratory safety culture and support universities in training industry-ready safety leaders, and is geared towards graduate students pursuing careers with a strong emphasis on chemical process safety, but undergraduates can also be considered to participate.
Representatives from The University of Texas at Austin, Washington University, Georgia Tech University, University of Florida, University of Houston, Texas A&M University, and ExxonMobil’s Partners in Academic Laboratory Safety (PALS) program worked together to outline the program’s objectives and curriculum.
“This idea for a student safety certificate within the department has been developing for a couple years,” explained Shallaco McDonald, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering’s building manager and staff advisor for the Graduate Student Safety Committee (GSSC). “We presented the idea at an ExxonMobil PALS Workshop, and they were enthusiastic, encouraged us to reach out to other universities and helped us really get the ball rolling.”
The main components of the program include core coursework, practical demonstration activities, and optional industry-led learning. The coursework leverages self-paced learning modules from the Safety and Chemical Engineering Education (SaChE) Certificate Program established by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Ideally within one semester, students complete 34.5 hours of online coursework and practical experience designed to take 20 credit hours. Practical experience can include things like shadowing Environmental Health & Safety staff, hosting a seminar for safety awareness, or attending a safety-focused conference, and other similar activities. Completed program packets are submitted to the national Campus Safety, Health, and Environmental Management Association for formal verification.
To complete her certificate, Carolina served as a lab safety officer, attended an ExxonMobil’s PALS Workshop, and documented her involvement with founding and organizing an annual Safety Day event that’s been running since 2021. At this year’s Safety Day, participants visited 10 stations with different safety demonstrations and had to answer takeaway questions at the end of each demonstration in order to receive an event t-shirt. Attendees also got to participate in a raffle for prizes.
Reflecting on her experience completing the certificate, Carolina said, “Through the coursework, I enjoyed learning tools that could be applied immediately to lab experiment design, such as chemical compatibility matrices. Studying historic safety incidents and understanding the process safety management system prepared me for industry safety standards.
“Through the practical work, I learned how to actively make my community safer by raising awareness and encouraging open communication, which enables learning from unsafe acts and fosters interdependence, helping me develop a safety-first leadership mindset.”
Carolina is a graduate student in UT Austin’s Department of Chemistry, but she actively collaborates with the GSSC in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, and Shallaco served as her official sponsor for completing the program.
Other safety-related accolades for Carolina include serving as president of the Chemistry Student Safety Organization for two years and co-organizing and presenting at an American Chemical Society Safety Summit in Denver in 2024.
“The safety certificate was an excellent experience that will truly stand out on any resume,” added Carolina. “It builds confidence in best practices and how to implement them, empowering you to lead honest communication and compliance around you.”
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If you’re a student interested in earning a safety certificate or want to get more involved with safety initiatives within the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, please contact Shallaco McDonald at
