Twelve undergraduate students from the Forensic and Investigative Science Department presented their projects at the WVU Spring Undergraduate Research Symposium (WVU URS) held on April 20, 2024 in the WVU MountainLair.
In the article by ForensicsCollege.com, Dr. Jackson from West Virginia University was able to answer questions about the forensic chemistry field ranging from misconceptions in pop culture to current development of instruments. The rest of the article offers information about career outlook, levels of forensic chemistry degrees, and accreditation.
Presumptive color tests are often used in the field of forensics to help identify the presence of a potential drug. In recent years, Dr. Luis Arroyo and his team have worked on finding a better way to detect drugs as part of a National Institute of Justice-funded study. With the use of screen-printed carbon electrodes and Raman spectroscopy, they have been able to find a drug identification method that is more accurate than the presumptive color tests and that can be used both in labs and in the field.
The WVU Forensic and Investigative Science LLC (Living Learning Community) students visited the FBI- CJIS Division facilities for an overview of the various sections housed on that campus. The students heard from members of various sections including: the National Instance Criminal Background Check Systems (NICS) related to firearm and ammunition purchase checks; the National Threat Operations Center (NTOC) which fields phone and electronic tips from across the country about possible federal crimes; and examiners from Biometric Technology Center who discussed Next Generation Identification (NGI) and other biometric resources the FBI is able to utilize for identification purposes.
Recently, the West Virginia University's Forensic and Investigative Science Department
was featured on the American Academy of Forensic Science TV's YouTube page. This
mini documentary follows the research of Dr. Tatiana Trejo and her research
group as well as other faculty within the department. You can read the description of
the video below and
watch the video on YouTube.
