Want to Learn Industrial Hygiene? Check this out.

By any measure I am in the latter stages of my career.  I have been around a long time and have seen quite a bit of positive change in the Industrial Hygiene profession.   We are evolving from a “pump jockey” mentality into a much more rigorous scientifically based vocation.   The refinement and enhancement of the science of sampling statistics by Jerry Lynch, John Mulhausen and others along with the pioneering efforts to use Bayesian statistics by Paul Hewitt and others are prime examples. 

At the AIHA conference in Minnesota last month I attended a presentation by Dr. Jerome Lavoue on a freely available statistical analysis tool: expostat.  This effort was new to me and it looked like a great tool.   I sent a note to my friend Tom Armstrong about it.  He responded that he was well aware of this tool and sends me a remarkable slide deck on statistical analysis that he is working on.   

Tom starts off with a 10,000 meter view of IH statistics and rapidly zooms into providing useful, spot-on guidance and details on the current state of the science and where to get more info.  Like I said, it is a remarkable set of 30 or so slides which Tom has agreed to allow me to send to you if you request it:  mjayjock@gmail.com.

Another highlight of the conference for me was a visit to Dr. Susan Arnold’s laboratory at the University of Minnesota.   It is a great lab with a lot of salient instruments and a chamber that allows her and her students to conduct some controlled exposure studies.  She also told me something about her IH curriculum which is very heavy in modeling and science.  I am aware of a few other programs along these lines but I was particularly happy to see Susan doing this.  If I were a young person interested in a top-notched program with opportunity for hands-on research I would consider moving to Minnesota weather notwithstanding.