Uma Tejaswi: Glasswashing Core

Glasswashing Core Supervisor Uma Tejaswi says that most of her team clocks in long before sunrise. Arriving at Whitehead Institute at 4 A.M. or earlier lets the glasswashing group make sure that the hallway shelves are stocked with sterile glassware by the time that researchers arrive to begin their days. “I consider glasswashing the backbone of the Institute,” Tejaswi says. “If the researchers get in around 9 and the shelves are empty, then that stops all lab work.”

What’s more, each lab requires specialized service. The glasswashers are able to make that happen because of their long relationships with the labs here. “The same person has been working with the same lab for perhaps 18 years,” Tejaswi says. “You can blindfold them and they’ll work exactly the same way.”

Different experiments might require different types of processing, Tejaswi says. For example, some experimental systems require acid-washed glassware, while other glassware must never be exposed to any kind of detergent. For some special applications, the glassware must be baked at high temperatures for over eight hours before it can be used. In all cases, the cleaning protocols are carefully followed.

“The team is very motivated because every speck, every dot matters,” Tejaswi says. The washers check for quality at every step of the process, including one more time while they’re carting the freshly cleaned materials to the hallway shelves. “Before they shelve it, they’ll still catch one more impurity out of 100 pieces of glassware,” she says. “That’s how accurate they are.”

“The faculty really value these services, and some of them have been at other institutions where the services are not even remotely as good,” says Brooke Bevis, the Glasswashing Core manager. “They already understand how important glasswashing is, and they’re really good at teaching and demonstrating to their lab members that you need to treat people who are providing a service to you with respect.”

Tejaswi came to Whitehead Institute last year. As the team’s supervisor, she focuses on servicing machinery, taking care of the chemical room, ordering materials, and coordinating with the researchers. She also fills in as a glasswasher when needed. “I have a good team,” she says. “They know what they have to do, and they’re teaching me.”

The lab floors of the building all have a glasswashing room at the north end of the floor, meaning that Tejaswi often has to run between floors to coordinate her team’s efforts. “Jumping up and down between the different floors is fun,” she says. “It keeps things active.”

The quality of the community at Whitehead Institute has stood out to Tejaswi since she arrived. “Everybody is so nice and friendly here,” she says. “I haven’t seen such a friendly place that caters to employees as humans so much before. It takes so much of the pressure off. Then it’s just your own work ethic and priorities that you have to worry about, and you reach your goals with much more ease and happiness than if you are getting a lot of pressure from others.”

Bevis says that while dishwashing machines aid the team’s efficiency, many things have to be processed by hand. “This is one of those things that can’t really be automated or sped up,” she says. “These guys really, really take pride in the work that they’re doing, with a lot of attention to detail.”

“It’s a little territorial at times—in a good way,” Tejaswi says. “It’s like, ‘This is mine, I have to do it this way.’ They take ownership of their roles. Then they double-check each other.”

Outside of work, Bevis spends time with her kids and enjoys reading and going to movies. Tejaswi is part of a classical Indian vocal group, teaches singing lessons, and volunteers at Hindu temples in the Boston area. About once a month, the glasswashing team gets brunch together.