The Usefulness of a Chemist at the Crime Scene

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If someone is poisoned or something like that, I could absolutely understand the usefulness of a chemist. If someone's shot or knifed, is there still things for the chemist to do at the crime scene? There may be. And so presumptive tests for that or they would actually collect, you know, swab hands very similar to what some, you know,. you get screened for testing at the airport. But also, let's say...you're trying to say, okay, is this red brown stain? Is it blood or not? Then you would do some type of chemical presumptive test or even okay, so it is blood, but is it human? Then you might do an immun

Sometimes science is asking esoteric questions about the fundamental nature of reality. Other times, it just wants to solve a murder. Today’s guest, Raychelle Burks, is an analytical chemist at St. Edward’s University in Texas. Before becoming a full-time academic, she worked in a crime lab using chemistry to help police track suspects, and now she does research on building new detectors for use in forensic analyses. We talk about how the real world of forensic investigation differs from the version you see portrayed on CSI, and how real chemists use their tools to help law enforcement agencies fight crime. We may even touch on how criminals could use chemical knowledge to get away with their dastardly deeds. Raychelle Burks received her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Nebraska, and is now an Assistant Professor at St. Edward’s University. Her current research focuses on the development of portable colorimetry sensors that can be used in the field. She is active on Twitter as @DrRubidium, and often appears as an expert on podcasts and TV documentaries, as well as speaking at conventions and festivals. She is an active advocate for women and underrepresented minorities in science. Web page Wikipedia Twitter Columns at Chemistry World Blog at Scientopia See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.