Chem 599 covers a range of safety topics, including cylinder safety, fire safety, laser safety, chemical incompatibilities, and cryogen safety.  Guest lecturers from Environmental Health & Safety, WU Emergency Preparedness, the Chemistry faculty, and Provost Holden Thorp participate in the course, helping to give incoming first-year graduate students a broad view of safety and compliance topics across campus.  Students also get the opportunity to learn how to write Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), a technical skill that helps orient lab personnel to safety concerns with specific lab procedures and operations.  Chem 599 is a required course for all first-year graduate students in the Chemistry Department.