Event
MSE Seminar: Ananya Girish, UMD
Wednesday, September 2, 2026
3:30 p.m.
Room 2108 Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Building
Sherri Tatum
301-405-5240
statum12@umd.edu
Nanomaterials: A Risk Assessment Perspective
Abstract: Nanomaterials are an integral part of modern research, but present unique health and safety hazards due to their miniscule size. As they decrease in size and their surface-area-to-volume ratio increases, these materials get more reactive and create novel health hazards through inhalation and dermal exposure. This talk will go over the special risks that arise when working with engineered nanomaterials and how to mitigate them to conduct research safely. The goal of this talk is to familiarize the audience with a general risk assessment framework, and the resources available to them to plan out their work and respond to emergencies.
Bio: Ananya Girish is a Laboratory Safety Specialist in the Department of Environmental Safety, Sustainability & Risk at UMD. She has worked in research safety for five years, and is working on an MPH in Environmental Health Sciences at UMD’s School of Public Health.
