Tuesday, February 15, 2005 Alumni Memorial Uniun Marquette University

DIRECTIONS

The role of the scientific expert witness is to provide information that helps jurors decide upon the facts of a case. In the past most laboratory analysis confirmed the composition of material (eg. was the powder an illegal substance) or found a material to belong to a certain class (eg. was a fiber from the crime scene consistent with fibers from the clothing of the suspect). With the advent of DNA analysis, the role the forensic examiner has changed dramatically. As the prospect of using DNA markers to characterize individuals considerable, effort went into developing a better understanding of the molecular biology in order to identify the most useful "markers" to use. However analysis of the DNA continued to rely upon slab gel electrophoresis. As the forensic community began to understand the impact of DNA evidence, there was a technical working group that helped bring a consensus on the best "markers "and procedures to utilize. Initially analysis was slow (relied upon slab gel electrophoresis) but analytical chemists developed new approaches using CE (capillary electrophoresis) and MAL DC toe, (mass spectrometry) which dramatically reduced analysis time. The technique has become so powerful for human identification that it is now used as an investigative tool for law enforcement. In addition, the same methods have been applied to looking at animal and plant DNA. More recently the concern about bilateralism has increased the work in rapid analysis of DNA to characterize organisms.

Ralph O. Allen, professor of chemistry and director of environmental health and safety at the University of Virginia (UVA), has published over 80 articles on applications of analytical chemistry and the management of hazardous materials. Professor Allen earned a Ph.D. degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison for his studies of trace elements in meteorites. He has been a co-principal investigator for the materials, he collected from the surface of the moon. At UVA, His interests have expanded into several other areas. Applying a geochemical approach to the study of archaeological materials led to several expeditions to archaeological sites, including predynastic sites in Egypt. He is presently chairman of the Archaeological Chemistry Subdivision of the History of Chemistry Division of the ACS and is editor of Archaeological Chemistry IV. For his interests in the use of chemical techniques in forensic investigations, he has served as a member of the Operations and Program Committee for the FBI's Forensic Science Research and Training Center at Quantico, VA, and was given the E. E. Erikson Award for his services to the law enforcement community. As director of environmental health and safety, he has been responsible for the management of hazardous materials at UVA and has served as a lecturer on chemical safety for numerous professional organizations.