In West Virginia University’s Department of Forensic and Investigative Science, much of that hands-on experience comes from assisting faculty with active research. Thanks to the newly developed Ph.D. program, students are able to be trained in undergraduate and stay to continue long term research.
With dreams of becoming a Supreme Court justice, the West Virginia University junior aspires to be the kind of attorney who understands the science behind the evidence.
Ms. Ayers and Mr. Law met with the Director of Jordan’s state-of-the-art ISO/IEC 17025 accredited forensic laboratory as well as the administration of the Criminal Investigation Division to learn about policy, procedure, and scientific capabilities in Jordan. Thereafter, they were able to develop a more personalized training program to meet the needs of the attendees. Participants expressed their gratitude and stated that the course added immense value to their work. “Working with an Arabic speaking audience proved to be a challenging, yet rewarding experience,” Ms. Ayers stated. “I look forward to bringing a cohort of Jordanians to West Virginia University....
WVU graduate student, Ms. Korina Menking-Hoggatt, summarized
the seminar on behalf of her colleagues: “The conference was a wonderful
experience. I enjoyed hearing forensic practitioners talk about cutting edge
forensic science and realizing my education at WVU is preparing me to be an
excellent practitioner.”
The internship experience allows students to gain insight to the tasks that
a forensic scientist performs on a daily basis. Go here for
more information about summer
internships.
Ms. Nobel is a second year M.S. student working with Dr. Jacqueline Speir. Madonna came from Malaysia to study and earn her B.S. in Forensic and Investigative Science at WVU. Afterwards, she decided to continue for her M.S. degree. According to Dr. Speir, “Madonna expressed initiative regarding her research objectives very early on in her graduate career.” Jacqueline went on to say that Madonna “used her thesis project as a means to learn completely new scientific concepts, as opposed to selecting a project built off of any pre-existing knowledge…and that this enthusiasm and aptitude, combined with a meaningful research question,....
The demographics of the
incoming class of 117 students are: 97 first-year students (77% are
non-residents) coming from 20 states other than West Virginia; 22 of the first-year
students are also first-generation students. The other twenty students are
transfers to the department, including three from foreign countries. It is
interesting to note that 75% are female, representing a trend observed over the
past several years.
Two new forensic chemists have recently joined the faculty, giving us six faculty with forensic chemistry backgrounds and thus an especially strong concentration of faculty expertise.
The West Virginia University Department of Forensic and
Investigative Science in partnership with the WVU College of Law Innocence
Project will be sponsoring an exhibit of Jim Fogle’s artwork being held at the
Monongalia Arts Center, 107 High Street through the month of September.
