We are committed to providing a welcoming, friendly, supportive, safe, and professional environment for all collaborators, researchers, and contributors to the UTK Self-Driving Lab initiative, regardless of age, background, belief, disability, ethnicity, race, religion, gender, identity, national origin, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristics.

This code of conduct applies to all of our collaborative spaces, including physical lab environments, meetings, and virtual spaces (such as GitHub repositories, digital workspaces, and video conferences).

Our expectations

  • By participating in our research initiative, contributing to our repositories, or attending our meetings, we expect participants to abide by this Code of Conduct and accept the procedure by which any incidents are resolved.
  • Please treat everyone with respect. We expect all contributors to help ensure a safe, collaborative, and positive experience for everyone.
  • Provide your true professional identity, affiliation, and, where appropriate, contact information when engaging in our collaborative digital spaces or attending project sessions.

Behaviors we encourage

  • Use of welcoming and inclusive language.
  • Showing respect for different scientific viewpoints, backgrounds, and experiences.
  • Graceful giving and acceptance of constructive criticism (especially during code reviews and research discussions).
  • Making space for others to speak, ask questions, and share their ideas.
  • Appreciating that contributors will have different skill levels, knowledge bases, and expertise—be patient and willing to mentor.
  • A shared commitment to open science and collaborative problem-solving.

Unacceptable behavior

  • Intimidating, harassing, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory, or demeaning speech or actions.
  • Harmful or prejudicial verbal or written comments or visual images related to age, background, belief, disability, ethnicity, race, religion, gender, identity, national origin, sexual orientation, or other personal characteristics, including those protected by law.
  • Inappropriate use of sexual language or imagery.
  • Real or implied threat of professional or financial damage or harm.
  • Inappropriate disruption of lab meetings, working groups, or digital workspaces.
  • Unauthorized photographing, recording, or publishing of unpublished research, raw data, or presentations without the explicit permission of the authors/creators.
  • Violating the rules and regulations of the online platform (e.g., GitHub, Zoom).

Reporting incidents

If you believe someone is violating the code of conduct, or if you experience or witness unacceptable behavior, please report this to the project lead or Principal Investigator straight away.

Resolution of incidents

Incidents will be reviewed promptly and confidentially. If the code of conduct has been violated, the actions we take could include:

  • Educating the person as to the consequences of their actions.
  • Removal from current meetings, working groups, or virtual workspaces.
  • Temporary or permanent revocation of repository access and contribution privileges.
  • Restrictions from future collaborative events and projects.
  • Removal from mailing lists or official project rosters.