Joshua Reyes
Handling bomb threats, training bomb dogs, and DNA analysis
are among the topics that will be explored during the University of Rhode
Island’s Forensic Science Seminar Series for the fall of 2016.
On Fridays, through Dec. 9, the seminars will be held from
3:30 to 5 p.m. in the new Richard E. Beaupre Center for Chemical and Forensic
Sciences, 140 Flagg Road, room 100, the Victor J. Baxt Lecture Hall. All
seminars are free and open to the public. The speakers and their topics are:
Sep. 23: Eric Gahagan, founder of OPS15, “Handling Bomb
Threats.” OPS15 is a network of professionals from the law enforcement and
military community that collaborates with chemists to help prepare others for
threats to their safety.
Sep. 30: Mark Linhard, OPS15, “Training Bomb Dogs.” A former Connecticut State Police trooper, Linhard will share his knowledge about accelerant and electronic storage detection in regards to canine training.
Oct. 7: Marcela Najarro, will discuss the NIST Trace Contraband
Detection Program. Najarro has been a research chemist at the National
Institute of Standards and Technology since 2005. She focuses on forensic
chemistry/toxicology and the detection and identification of drugs and abuse.
She is also developing trace explosives standards.
Oct. 14: Michael Sigman, will present Validating Forensic
Inference: A Likelihood Ratio Approach. Sigman is associate professor of
chemistry at the University of Central Florida. Sigman spent 12 years at Oak
Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee conducting research in environmental
photochemistry explosives. He then moved to the University of Central Florida
where he also serves as assistant director for physical evidence at the
National Center for Forensic Science.
Oct. 21: Al Hazen of St. Joseph University, will discuss The
Various Forensic Sciences Used in Solving Criminal Cases.
Oct. 28: Daniel Greenfield, professor of neuroscience at
Seton Hall University, “Forensic Psychiatry in a Nutshell.” He will discuss
medicine, psychiatry and the law.
Nov. 4: Doug Klapec, “Bureau of Alcohol Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.” Klapec will share stories from his work at
the ATF forensic science laboratory.
Nov. 11: Holiday
Nov. 18: Ed Pierce, former member of the Warwick Police
Department,
“Law enforcement Issues with Non Traditional Groups.”
Nov. 25: Holiday
Dec. 2: Melissa Taylor of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology, “Human Factor.” Taylor will deliver a lecture that
discusses human factors and forensic science.
Dec. 9: Vincent Desiderio, forensic chemist with the U.S.
Postal Inspection Service, “Using Science to Protect the US Postal Service
& Its Customers.” Desiderio will discuss how the postal service detects
unsafe materials being sent through the mail. He will talk about the steps
taken by the postal service to ensure the safety of the U.S. mail and its
customers through the use of science.
Joshua
Reyes, an intern in the University’s Department of Marketing and Communication
and a public relations major, wrote this release.