Safety Spotlight: Alan Bolind & Amin Jazaeri

Jazaeri serves as the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s Director of Technical and Instructional Support, while also working as a DSC. In his role as director, he provides guidance and manages support personnel who lead safety trainings and provide machine operating instructions for Etcheverry Hall’s Mechanical Engineering Student Access Machine Shop. His multifaceted roles position him uniquely to support a strong focus on safety in both research and instruction.

Bolind has been part of UC Berkeley’s campus community for over a decade. Before joining EH&S, he worked as a research engineer and then as the safety coordinator for both the Department of Nuclear Engineering and the College of Engineering. Last year, when he saw the opening for his current position, he realized he “had the background, connections, and the understanding to be able to do it.”

In 2013, Jazaeri was working for George Mason University as a faculty member of the Physics Department. He left George Mason and spent 10 years working for UC Berkeley’s Physics Department before recently moving to his current role. He is excited to take on new challenges and grow in his expanded responsibilities.

When asked what motivates them in their roles, Bolind spoke first, highlighting the satisfaction of setting clear expectations for safety. He explained that while researchers understand the importance of safety, they often have a vague sense of what “safe enough” really means. By meeting with lab safety coordinators or faculty, he helps clarify exactly what needs to be done. Bolind enjoys reassuring researchers by providing detailed guidance on what a safe lab looks like.

Similarly, Jazaeri emphasized the importance of his relationships at work. He spoke warmly about how much he enjoys working with his coworkers. He described his colleagues at Berkeley as “there to support you in your role and whatever you want to do.” For him, the most rewarding part of the job is collaborating with “wonderful people.”

Jazaeri shared that a common challenge he faces is having to reassure faculty that his role isn’t to stand in the way of their research, but to help make it safer and more effective. With tight deadlines, he explained, some researchers are tempted to “take shortcuts that they’re not supposed to take because it won’t be safe.” He reiterated that his role is to “make sure that everybody's working in a safe environment and to realize that safety should be our number one concern.” Despite these obstacles, he finds joy in discovering creative, out-of-the-box solutions. “No matter where we go, we will learn,” he said. “The best part of my job is that you keep learning . . . the learning never stops.”

Bolind explained that DSCs are informed about ongoing experiments and emerging safety risks. “Without a DSC, it's like losing one of my five senses. I can kind of figure out what's going on in the department . . . but I’m hampered in a way.” Collaboration with DSCs leads to smoother inspections and safer lab environments. “DSCs run into these people more often, whether intentionally or just in the hallway.” The “face-to-face interaction, the boots on the ground, are essential for creating a safety culture.”