Lab Manager | Run Your Lab Like a Business
Lab Manager November 2021 Cover Image - A jar filled with US dollar bills

Cover Story |  Volume 16 - Issue 10  |  November 2021

Leading a Lab Under Budget Pressure

The right approach can turn a reduced budget into a positive learning opportunity

Sections

Products in Action

A selection of BEING Instrument Lab Ovens

BEING BOF Series Mechanical Convection Drying Oven

The BOF series oven provides a stable high-temperature environment for material testing and drying protocols, and enables drying and disinfection of  glassware, solid objects, solid materials, process equipment, and more.

Business Management

A pair of female hands, one typing on a calculator and one writing on a page with a pen, to illustrate the building of a lab budget.

Three Keys to Building Better Lab Budgets

To budget effectively, lab managers need to have a clear understanding of what is most important for the lab, and what compromises can be made

Dollar bills in glass jar on wooden table

Leading a Lab Under Budget Pressure

The right approach can turn a reduced budget into a positive learning opportunity

A young, Black female lab manager sits at her desk going through her lab's budget on a large computer monitor. She is wearing a yellow sweater and glasses.

Successfully Advocating for Investments in the Lab

Building a business case to improve approval rates for lab investments

Labs Less Ordinary

The Haystack Ultrawideband Satellite Imaging Radar, which looks like a massive gold-colored globe covered in a cage of triangles.

The Lab That’s Worked to Keep the Nation Safe since the 1950s

For the last 70 years, the MIT Lincoln Laboratory has been playing a significant role in protecting the US against potential threats

In Focus

A collection of two different types of pipettes.

Ergonomically Designed Electronic Pipettes Improve Results

Heavy lab work loads highlight the need for safe, precise, and reliable pipetting

A collection of blank paper with deckled edges

One Man’s Passion Transformed the Paper Industry as We Know It

How early innovations from the founders of a well-known lab brand changed the face of paper

Asset Management

A blue-gloved hand of a lab worker places a discarded white disposable glove into a yellow waste container.

‘Greener’ Options and Approaches to Lab Waste Management

With environmental concerns top of mind, new approaches and initiatives are helping laboratories manage waste more efficiently

How it Works

LECO TGM800 Thermogravimetric Analyzer with Lid Open

Automated Loss on Drying

Lose the frustration, not the results

A bearded man and blonde woman look at a computer screen

Integrated Workflow to Ensure Data Durability

Securing your lab’s data through the full, mandated retention period

Leadership and Staffing

A young man in business casual attire stands with his arms crossed in front of a grey, gently lit background with his shadow casting on the wall. The shadow is wearing a superhero cape to symbolize a confident leader.

Steps to Become a Confident Leader in the Lab

Confidence is an essential ingredient of leadership, but takes time, competence, and help from others to develop

Lab Design and Furnishings

A lab designer's hands at work at the drafting table, with the plans for the building spread out.

Cutting Costs Without Cutting Corners in Lab Design

Strategies and tips to protect your investment

Flexible and modular shared open lab view.

Planning for Mid-Design Disruptions to Your Lab Project

Modular planning allows flexible labs to accommodate research with minimal disturbances

Lab Health and Safety

White and yellow barrels of hazardous waste, as seen from above.

Managing Hazardous Chemical Waste in the Lab

How to guide lab staff through each step of the chemical waste process

INSIGHTS

A large white fingerprint on a black background to represent forensics.

Tech Trends in Next-Generation Forensics

Mass spectrometry continues to broaden the capabilities of forensic science

Ask the Expert

A beaker with a cannabis leaf on it and filled with cannabis oil sits on a page of laboratory test results next to a rack of test tubes in the lab.

Facing Key Challenges in the Cannabis Testing Industry

Susan Audino, PhD, discusses opportunities for growth and improvement among cannabis testing laboratories in this Q&A with managing editor Lauren Everett

Product Focus

Rippling water to illustrate the concept of a lab water bath.

How Upgrading Your Lab Bath or Chiller Can Help You Save Big

Upgrading your bath or chiller can provide better efficiency and accuracy now, and energy and cost savings in the long term

A fully gowned, gloved, and hooded lab worker pipettes a liquid at a biological safety cabinet in the lab.

When to Upgrade Your Lab’s Biological Safety Cabinet

BSCs are crucial for the safety of staff and the protection of products, so it’s important to know when these units should be upgraded

The inner workings of a cell membrane in purple, orange, yellow, blue, and pink to illustrate bioreactors.

Maximizing Savings with Benchtop Bioreactors

The lower costs of benchtop bioreactors make them a better choice for testing initial ideas and optimizing production recipes

A scientist's white-gloved hands pouring liquid from a test tube into a  cylindrical beaker to show how ICP-MS is used in water testing.

How to Choose an ICP-MS for Your Laboratory

Choosing an ICP-MS requires careful consideration of required features as well as budget constraints

Innovations In

Red and orange cells on a dark red and greenish-colored background.

Innovations in Cell Biology

Recent developments center on microfluidics, synthetic organelles, artificial intelligence, imaging, and more