There are two ways to think about environmental monitoring. In environmental science, it involves field work: wastewater sampling, soil sampling, or outdoor air quality testing. The samples go to a lab, are processed, and results are reported back to the submitter. The other way to think about environmental monitoring is within a lab or clean… Read More
The human construct of time provides us with a frame of reference for discussing a sequence of events. It helps our consciousness make sense of the physical world around us. In some schools of thought, the future doesn’t exist. As scientists, engineers, and laboratory informatics professionals, however, it’s your job to plan for the future,… Read More
Agile development is one of those buzzwords that you’ve heard a lot if you’ve spent any time at all in the business world. Like Lean Six Sigma, it’s one of those secret handshake-type terms that will have everyone nodding in recognition, even if they’re not really sure what it’s about. But in laboratory informatics—particularly in… Read More
The topic of this blog was occasioned by a recent calendar observation. November 8 is recognized in the United States as National STEM Day (or National STEAM Day). STEM is the acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math; STEAM is its extension when you include the arts. Educators around the country use the occasion to… Read More
20 years ago, as a response to the pharmaceutical and life science industries wanting to increase the use of computer systems in the lab, the FDA released 21 CFR Part 11. The ruling on using electronic records and signatures in place of their hard copy counterparts has since impacted not only how we collect, analyze,… Read More