Re: Principal Investigator?

[Andrew Karam <akaram@safety.rochester.edu>]

>For those of you at Universities, what is your definition of a 
>Principal Investigator? and how do you determine who can and who 
>cannot be a Principal Investigator authorized to use radioactive 
>material?

We just had a discussion on this matter at our last Radiation Safety
Committee meeting.  We (Rad Safety) have always said that a PI is the
person who's name is on the permit for using radioactive materials.  The
researchers say that the PI is the person responsible for the research and
the person on the grant.  So, for example, one PI may have several related
research projects taking place under one large grant with three or four
labs taking part in the work.  Each lab may then have a separate permit
with Rad Safety.  From our standpoint, we'd have several PIs; from the
researchers' point of view, they have one PI and several investigators.  

A semantic difference, to some extent, but it raised a lot of hackles until
we realized it.

Andy

Andrew Karam, MS, CHP				
RSO, University of Rochester			  
(716) 275-3781 (voice)						
(716) 256-0365 (fax)
akaram@safety.rochester.edu

"The mind is not a vessel to be filled  but a fire to be lighted" 
 Plutarch
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