Hi,
I'm a 3rd year PhD student in enviro science. My supervisors are fabulous but I keep having run ins with another staff member who has a long reputation of treating students like s**t. He doesn't tolerate any mistakes, lapses of memory or, (and this is what I'm targeted for) untidiness in 'his' lab. At first it was just a couple of small things that I got over relatively easily but the latest run in was over some glassware that broke in a shelf while I was using another machine. I couldn't find the glass bin so I decided to leave it till the end of my cleaning to have a really good look for it. Anyway he came in while I was on the phone, found the glass yelled and swore at me, started cleaning and sweeping telling me glass was everywhere including computer keyboards (it wasn't). I told him what had happened and grabbed a broom but he just dismissed me saying he'd already cleaned it up. When I told him I couldn't find the glass waste bin he yelled & showed me that it was under the desk (behind other equipment). Then he accused me of leaving sample rings everywhere (they were all on top of a small freezer) when I went to take them off he accused me of scratching the freezer that he had paid for out of a grant he got. The impossibility of scratching a metal freezer with plastic coated sampling rings made me realise that whatever I did in that lab from that moment on would be wrong. Now I am totally terrified of going in there again but I have to run more samples. I've told my supervisor but she says I have to deal as he's never going to change. I feel silly being this scared over one incident. How can I get over this and get my samples done?