Team:BostonU/GreenGEM/Collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration is the lifeblood of science! Our collaborations help us share information and improve our science. Sustainable practices can be not only a source of collaboration, but can improve the process of collaboration itself. Detailed within this Action Area are practices which can help you collaborate and form connections, while ensuring that the process of collaboration is as environmentally-friendly as possible.
#1: Share Space With Other Labs
Sharing space with other labs reduces the need for additional equipment such as freezers and incubators, as well as the lab facility's resource burden due to autoclaves and fume hoods. Coordinating between labs by implementing a structured, well-documented inventory also helps everyone stay organized. Additionally, sharing space in a lab facility streamlines division of lab maintenance duties and encourages collaboration between neighboring labs.
#2: Collaborate with Nearby Labs
BostonU is fortunate to work in the heart of Boston, where we are surrounded by labs at several different universities. Collaborating with nearby labs helps to drive our science forward! It's important to consider the environmental impacts of travelling to collaborate with other labs. Consider using public transit systems to reduce your impact when travelling - when BostonU collaborated with the Nair Lab at Tufts University, we took the subway! However, it's not always possible to use public transit or other environmentally-friendly options such as biking. For iGEM's Giant Jamboree, many teams are coming to Boston from all across the world, and will need to travel by plane. Once teams have arrived in Boston, they'll be able to use the MBTA public transit system to get around.
#3: Keep an Electronic Lab Notebook
Keeping an electronic lab notebook can be hugely beneficial for iGEM teams especially, as electronic lab notebooks allow multiple lab members to view and edit pages at the same time. Moreover, an electronic lab notebook eliminates paper waste and ensures that your lab notes are secure by keeping them backed up in the cloud. Electronic lab notebooks can be hosted on note-taking applications such as OneNote, or on lab software such as Benchling.
#4: Share Equipment with Other Labs
Sharing space in freezers, shakers, and incubators helps reduce energy consumption by consolidating, and allows labs to split costs of equipment. Sharing equipment also helps keep equipment well maintained by splitting maintenance duties between two or three different lab members.
#5: Have Fun!
A good collaboration can be incredibly fun for everyone involved, and it can introduce scientists to lifelong friends and useful resources! Collaboration can be a wonderfully productive positive experience, and making sure collaboration is sustainable only makes it more positive.