Popular series wraps up season with animals in police work, gun crime, medical examination
 |
| Sgt. Steven Courville of the Providence Mounted Command is coming to URI on March 28 to discuss how horses contribute to police efforts in the capital city. |
The seminar has brought local, regional, national and
international authorities to talk about everything from the Boston Marathon
bombing to September 11. The seminars feature experts on crime,
evidence-gathering, crime prevention and investigations that rely on scientific
processes.
The series has hosted guest speakers such as Kirk Yeager, the FBI’s chief explosives scientist; Robert Leuci, who exposed corruption in the New York City Police Department; Mary Jane Behrends Clark ’76, best-selling suspense novelist; and Anthony Amore ’89, chief of security at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.
Visiting speakers have discussed everything
from explosive devices and national security to forensic odontology and arson,
coming to URI from the Department of Homeland Security, R.I. State Fire Marshal
Office, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and U.S. Secret Service.
Professor of Chemistry Jimmie Oxley, an expert on explosives
and energetic materials, coordinates the free public lecture series with Dennis
Hilliard, director of the Rhode Island State Crime Laboratory at URI.
All lectures are held on Fridays at 3:30 p.m. in
the Richard E. Beaupre Center for Chemical and Forensic Sciences (Room 100).
URI students attend the series for credit, but the lectures are open to the
public at no cost.
Crime Fridays
This spring’s speakers and topics are:
Jan. 31 — “Digital forensics,” professor of computer science Victor Fay-Wolfe. Fay-Wolfe is a URI Faculty Fellow, recipient of the University’s Golden Key Teaching Award, and the founder and director of URI’s Digital Forensics and Cyber Security Center.
Feb. 7 — “NCIS crime scene processing,” Michele
Petro, special agent, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Newport.
Feb. 14 — “Cultivating cannabis … and alcohol
awareness,” Anthony Silva, retired police chief and past president of
the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association, which represents nearly 50 agencies
statewide.
Feb. 21 — “Search dogs – finding humans,” Matthew
Zarrella. Zarrella launched the R.I. State Police’s search and rescue K-9 unit
and has traveled the world looking for missing persons and military personnel
missing in action. His career is the subject of the award-winning feature
documentary Searchdog, by URI’s Mary Healey Jamiel.
Feb. 28 — “Trends in forensic DNA analysis,” David
San Pietro, associate professor of forensic science, University of New Haven.
San Pietro brings perspective from working in the New York City Police
Department Crime Laboratory and the Office of Chief Medical Examiner.
March 7 — “The role of forensic archaeology in solving
cases,” Ann Marie Mires, director of forensic criminology, Anna Maria
College. An experienced forensic anthropologist/archaeologist, Mires spent
several years directing the Molly Bish Center for the Protection of Children
and the Elderly.
March 21 — “The coldest case in Rhode Island: R.I. versus
John and Nicholas Gordon,” Michael DiLauro, retired public defender
and criminal justice reform advocate. DiLauro will discuss the 1845 trial of
the Gordon brothers, and the case of John Gordon, the last man executed in
Rhode Island.
March 28 — “Police do horse around,” Steven
Courville, Providence Police. Sgt. Courville oversees the capital city’s
mounted command, one of a few of its kind remaining in the country. The command
regularly patrols Providence streets and attends community happenings such as
the Bristol 4th of July Parade, PVD Fest and more.
April 4 — “Introduction to crime gun intelligence,” Robert
White and Ricky Mustion II, ATF Crime Gun Intelligence, Boston. White and
Mustion will discuss the role of firearms in intelligence work, as it pertains
to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
April 11 — “Tales of a medical examiner,” Patricia
Ogera, Rhode Island state medical examiner. Ogera has worked as a medical
examiner in New England for more than a decade.
April 18 — “Defending the indigent,” Fred
Whitehurst, retired FBI, defense attorney. A chemist by training and FBI
whistleblower, Whitehurst helped bring about reforms at the agency to improve
the reliability of its testing.
April 25 — “New England organized crime and informants,” Anthony
Pesare, retired, Rhode Island State Police. Pesare spent 24 years in a Rhode
Island state police intelligence unit investigating mobsters and served twice
as chief of police in Middletown.
(Schedule subject to change; join email list for updates)
URI’s Forensic Science Seminar Series is offered for credit
for students and also open to the public at no cost. The public can park in Lot
13 behind the Beaupre Center, which is open for general parking at 3 p.m. on
seminar Fridays. High school students interested in forensics are also welcome.
Those who cannot attend in person may view
the lectures live online.
Links to talks by prior speakers can be viewed here.
To learn more about the URI Forensic Science Seminar
Series and to be added to the series’ email list, contact kristen.curry@uri.edu or
call 401-874-5602.
