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Whether she’s standing in a chemistry lab on campus or sitting in her own plane some 10,000 feet in the air, Patty Hamilton has safety on her mind.
As hazard communications manager in the Office of Environmental Health and Safety, Hamilton trains professors and students in laboratory safety. She stresses the need for personal protection equipment, explains what to do in case of an emergency, and demonstrates how to properly store hazardous chemicals. She also inspects all labs on campus to ensure safe practices.
“Here at the University, we deal mostly with chemical and biological safety in our labs,” said Hamilton, who has worked at USC for 19 years. “We are one of the few university health and safety departments in the world that is ISO 14001-certified. ISO 140001 is a rigorous and well-recognized industry standard established by the International Organization for Standardization.
“Safety is also constantly on your mind when you’re flying,” said Hamilton, who has a private pilot’s license. “Lots of safety checks are performed even before takeoff, including a total walk-around inspection of the plane. Then you check the engine right before takeoff. And while you’re in the air, you regularly practice engine-outs and always look for fields you can land in if there is an emergency. Pilots are extremely safety-minded, and there are safety standards they must meet.”
Hamilton credits an old boyfriend with introducing her to flying.
“When I was in my 20s, a guy I was dating took me on a tour of the southern Florida coast in his small-engine airplane. From the moment I was up in the air I knew I wanted to fly in small planes. You get a whole different perspective of what the world looks like—it’s incredibly beautiful.”
In 1995, Hamilton began thinking about building her own plane but dismissed it as too much of a dream. In 1999, the dream took hold.
“I finished it in about five years,” she said. “It’s called an RV6, and it’s a home-built, or experimental, plane. It holds two passengers and can travel at 180 miles per hour.
“I fly all over the state; there are little airports just about anywhere you want to go. One of my favorite trips is to Jekyll Island. You can fly there, land at a small airport on the island, and then walk to a number of restaurants. I have also flown in air shows as part of a formation flight.
“I do try to fly a lot, and I used to fly every weekend, but the high price of fuel has put a damper on my ability to fly every weekend. Aviation fuel is about $3.50 a gallon right now, and the airplane burns about eight gallons an hour, so that can get to be very expensive.”
Hamilton is president of Palmetto Sport Aviation, a local flying club that has more than 250 members. She also recently participated in Science Splash, an event designed to interest middle-school girls in science-related careers. She shared photos of her plane and enthralled the girls with stories about safety in the laboratory and safety in the sky.
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