Singh Reopening Announcement
May 22, 2020
To The Singh Center Community:
As you know, the Singh Center was forced to close in March of this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m happy to inform you that we are currently in the planning stages of reopening to serve our users, with a target reopening date of June 8, 2020.
Once we reopen, we will be operating under the Phase 1 guidelines associated with the University of Pennsylvania’s Resumption of Research Plan. You can find more information about the Plan at: https://research.upenn.edu/resources/resumption/
For users of the Singh Center, this means, among other things:
Protective masks must be worn in all spaces within the Singh Center.
There will be capacity controls dictating the maximum number of users that can utilize each shared facility at any given time.
At this time, the training of new users will be severely restricted so as to comply with social distancing protocols. Some highly specialized equipment may be available only to those users who have already been certified to the highest levels of training.
There will be mandatory retraining on hygiene protocols as dictated by Penn’s Environmental Health and Radiation Safety (EHRS) office as well as on specific facility procedures.
Non-resident access to the Singh Center will be restricted only to those actively using the shared facilities. In general, it will be necessary for non-residents to leave the building once your use of the facilities is concluded so the next users may enter.
Prioritization of research as per the University’s Phase 1 guidelines, as well as expanded use of off-peak times of day, may be required should user demand exceed capacity.
As we plan for our reopening, we will be considering expanded staffing hours to serve the maximum number of users that we can given our current constraints.
A word about capacity controls – you might think “What need is there for capacity controls in a clean room?”
Although viral transmission is likely reduced in our clean environments, there are other areas of concern, such as the gowning areas and the microscope and scanning probe facilities, which must be considered.
We will keep you updated as our plans finalize, and are looking forward to serving you again!
Sincerely,
Mark Allen, Director
Singh Center for Nanotechnology
