Forensic science scientist

Ryan M. Richards was raised near Flint, Michigan. In 1994, he completed both B.A. in chemistry and B.S. in forensic science at Michigan State University. He then spent 2 years as an M.S. student at Central Michigan University working on organometallic chemistry with Professor Bob Howell. He was awarded a Ph D. in 2000 for investigating the properties of metal oxide nanoparticles in the laboratory of Professor Kenneth Klabunde at Kansas State University. In 1999, he was an invited scientist at the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis in Novosibirsk,... 

In 1910 the French scientist Edmond Locard, inspired by the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, postulated the fundamental principle on which forensic science and trace evidence is based, namely, The Locard Exchange Principle (Chisum and Turvey 2000). When two things come into contact, physical components can be exchanged. For example, the exchange can take the... 

The major question posed now is how can soils be used to make accurate forensic comparisons when we know that soils are highly complex and that there are thousands of different soil types in existence For example, according to the USDA, which collects soil data at many different scales, there are more than 50,000 different varieties of soil in the United States alone. Parent material, climate, organisms, and the amount of time it takes for these properties to interact will vary worldwide. First of all, soil samples must be carefully collected and handled at the crime scene and then compared by a soil scientist with forensic science experience to ensure that the soil samples can be useful during an investigation. 

The advocacy for forensic potential of fungi has recently been revived (Carter and Tibbett 2003 Tibbett and Carter 2003). However, there have been no major developments in this field for thirty years (see Sagara 1976b). We hope mycologists and forensic scientists will collaborate to take the concept of forensic mycology forward into an accomplished and effective forensic science tool. 

Forensic taphonomy is an applied discipline that is coming of age. To date, however, the major advances in the field have been captured in publications that deal primarily with the cadaver and associated items rather than the grave itself. This book provides, for the first time, a collection of chapters from leading scientists in their fields that deal primarily with the burial environment. Our focus is on the processes of decomposition in soils, the decomposers in the soil, and the basic physiochemical composition of the soil as it relates to forensic science and taphonomy. 

Finally, what is a third important ingredient in the forensic science training format I see it as a need to guide the student in understanding the role of science in the total scheme of the administration of justice. For years we have heard many eminent forensic scientists make strong appeals for the scientist to remain aloof from the crime scene, from the investigator, from the legal counsel, from the accused, and from the philosophy of the law itself. The scientist is told that his objective interpretation of the evidence will be a sufficient end in itself. 

The need to staff forensic laboratories with qualified personnel has created a demand for education facilities to prepare forensic scientists. Educators in colleges and universities in many parts of the country are responding to this demand. Very quickly these brave souls discover that being an educator in forensic science places them directly in the middle of a controversy in which the educational needs of the forensic science profession must be placed in a frame work prescribed by college or university administration. At this point, the educator becomes the man in the middle. To survive this controversy, the educator must recognize each problem area and somehow reach a solution acceptable to the parties involved. 

The forensic science profession is not entirely without fault Perhaps, due to the state of flux in which the profession finds itself, forensic scientists have not been sufficiently articulate about the personnel needs of the profession. Just what the forensic scientist does within the confines of the CRIME LABORATORY walls has long been a well guarded mystery or at least it seems... 

On July 19, 197 the Board of Regents of the State of Florida approved the B.S, degree program in Forensic Science at FTU for initiation in September, 197. Development of the degree program and support facility took nearly two years to complete. A significant portion of that time was spent talking to forensic scientists in an attempt to articulate the problems just described. 

Acknowledging critical recommendations from concerned forensic scientists, the degree program will contain in excess of 110 credit hours of science courses, to include a minimum of 44 hours of chemistry and 28 hours of special forensic science courses. 

What about chemistry courses in the curriculum The question of whatconstitutes adequate educational preparation for the forensic science profession is a very controversial one. Almost without hesitation, when asked what background do you look for when you hire new personnel, the answer is a degree in chemistry. Yet, when pressed, this same individual will usually admit that there are a few things which were not covered in a Chemistry Degree that are valuable to forensic scientists. There is no doubt that a strong background preparation in Chemistry is essential. 

The success of an introductory course on forensic science for the non-scientist will be dependent on the instructor s ability to select those motivating topics that will stimulate thought and understanding of related scientific principles. 

With these introductory comments in mind we would now like to examine the M.S. program in forensic chemistry that is being planned for September 1975 at Northeastern University. Personnel from the Institute visited many of the schools listed in Table I, as well as a number of practicing laboratories. We wish to thank all those who freely gave advice without their help we would not have been able to advance to the present stage. As in research, a team effort was made by members of the Institute in the curriculum development. Personnel experienced in forensic science interacted with chemists, toxicologists and materials scientists to achieve a final program. 

A report on the Personnel Background and Qualifications of scientists and paraprofess-ionals in the forensic science field ... 

Through the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, the Federal Government is funding significant research in forensic science (Peterson). Proposals for funding are reviewed by experienced forensic scientists to ensure that those which address themselves to urgent, current... 

Dr. Yinon conducted research, as a senior research fellow, at the Weizmann Institute of Science for over 35 years. He was a research associate (1971-1973) and a senior research associate (1976-1977) at Caltech s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena, California) and spent sabbatical leaves as a visiting scientist at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Research Triangle Park, North Carolina) (1980-1981), the EPA Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory (Las Vegas, Nevada) (1988-1989), and the University of Florida (Gainesville, Florida) (1993-1994). His last appointment in the U.S., before returning to Israel, was as visiting professor and assistant director at UCF s National Center for Forensic Science (Orlando, Florida) (2000-2003). 

Dr. James Smyth Wallace is a retired U.K. forensic scientist and a 25-year veteran of the Northern Ireland Forensic Science Laboratory. He is the author/co-author of 14 scientific papers, as well as a forensic science textbook. He is a member of the Forensic Science Society and retains an active interest in forensic chemistry, particularly in the area of trace evidence detection. 

Dr. Jim Wallace is a retired U.K. forensic scientist who worked in the firearms section of the Northern Ireland Forensic Science Laboratory for almost 25 years. 

The potentiai for using HPLC in forensic science laboratories was recognised when the technique was in its infancy. This interest arose because of the difficulties encountered with the analysis of basic drugs, and it was soon to be appreciated that HPLC offered certain advantages over gas chromatography (GC). Once it was established that reproducible quah-tative and quantitative analysis could be performed in several minutes there was a keeimess to determine if HPLC could be used to solve other analytical problems experienced by the forensic scientist. 

Within a forensic science laboratory, the analytical problems are often very different to those found in other laboratories. Extremely small and often aged samples, complex matrices and an extensive range of analytes are encountered by the forensic scientist and the success of any HPLC method is often very dependent upon the selectivity and/or sensitivity of the system. General developments in column and detector technology have played a major role in improving both these criteria and hence increasing the number of forensic appUcations of HPLC. 

The variety of fields in which a chemist can work is extensive. Because chemistry is such a broad science, chemists can work on the interface with many other sciences, and even move into other fields. The primary area, of course, is the chemical industry, pharmaceuticals, polymers and plastics, semiconductor and other solid-state materials, and related fields. Examples of activities include research, quality control and property testing, and customer service. In other areas, modern medicine depends heavily on chemistry and involves many chemists in drug development and testing. Forensic science has a very large chemistry component, and many forensic scientists are in fact chemists. These are just a few of the fields in which chemistry plays a role. 

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