Department News

Robert Ramotowski was awarded Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Chemistry from the George Washington University in 1993 and 1997, respectively. He worked as a research scientist and Chief Forensic Chemist for the Secret Service, Forensic Services Division, Washington, DC, from 1994-2018. His job duties included the coordination of forensic research activities within the laboratory (as well as liaison between other entities, including academia, industry, and other domestic and international law enforcement laboratories), particularly in the areas of latent print visualization, questioned document analysis, instrumental analysis, and ink and paper chemistry. He is currently the Program Manager for Forensic Science, Special Programs Office, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD. He currently oversees a research portfolio that includes projects in firearms and toolmarks, forensic genetics, digital and identification evidence, trace, drugs and toxins, statistics, and biometrics. He also oversees NIST’s Forensic Science Center of Excellence – the Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence (CSAFE). He has published more than thirty articles on latent print and document chemistry and given more than 100 lectures and workshops in the United States as well as in more than a dozen countries. Mr. Ramotowski is both author and editor of the 3rd edition of Lee and Gaensslen’s Advances in Fingerprint Technology. He is a member of the International Association for Identification, Chesapeake Bay Division of the IAI, ASTM International E30, and the American Chemical Society.

West Virginia University’s Department of Forensic and Investigative Science Forensic Graduate Seminar invites you to attend this guest lecture.

West Virginia University’s Department of Forensic and Investigative Sciences Forensic Graduate Seminar invites you to attend this guest lecture on January 29, 2021 at noon via Zoom.

Jason Lively spent 14 years behind bars for a fire he didn’t set, until science supported his innocence.

Researchers Dr. Tatiana Trejos and Dr. Luis Arroyo in the West Virginia University Department of Forensic and Investigative Science have received two grants from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and National Institute of Justice totaling nearly $1 million.

Job Description and Profile (Español abajo)

The 2020 American Academy of Forensic Science meeting was productive for the FIS students and faculty!  WVU FIS was represented with nineteen oral and/or poster presentations. It is always rewarding to share our work with the professional forensic science community.  

Heather Massey is a junior Honors EXCEL student from Culpeper, VA. She is a forensic and investigative science major on the examiner track.

Her project deals with oral fluid testing devices for law enforcement, something that combines her love of law enforcement and forensics, specifically related to the field of drugs. Similar to a roadside breath test for alcohol, the oral fluid drug testing device is used by patrol officers after they have noticed symptoms of potential drug use by a driver. They collect a saliva sample with a swab, a less intrusive, alternative method to blood draws or urine samples. She has researched different manufacturers and their products, and is researching the legal implications and policies behind the device.

Outside of school, she enjoys exercising, cooking, watching police or Investigation Discovery shows, reading and finding new places that serve brunch. Her dream job is to become a sworn crime scene investigator.