SU Forensic & National Security Sciences Institute

Big congrats to our 2024 master's graduates! We're thrilled to announce that 33 students have earned their MS degrees in Forensic Science, Biomedical Forensic Science, and Medicolegal Death Investigation. Your hard work and dedication have paid off, and we can't wait to witness your future accomplishments!

Take a look at the speech delivered by Yvonne Kuo, a recent graduate with a double major in Forensic Science and Psychology at this year's commencement! Congratulations on this remarkable achievement!

Student Speaker Yvonne Chen-Yih Kuo ’24: 'Be the Generation That Pushes Time Forward' (Video) — Syracuse University News As the student speaker for Commencement 2024, University Scholar Yvonne Chen-Yih Kuo ’24 asked her fellow graduates to reflect on their academic and interpe ...

Professor Maria C. Pettolina recently collaborated with Tri-Tech Forensics to deliver a comprehensive 40-hour training course supported by the International Association for Identification. This training, titled "Analysis and Documentation of Medicolegal Death Investigations," was offered in partnership with the Chautauqua District Attorney’s Office. Participants included professionals from various disciplines such as members of the district attorney’s office, the county forensic team, police officers, detectives, and representatives from the coroner’s office.
Throughout the week-long course, students were immersed in a thorough examination of techniques essential for the proper observation, documentation, and processing of death scenes. Topics covered included identifying time of death indicators, analyzing wound characteristics, evidence collection methods, and scene observations.

It was a busy time for some of our Forensics faculty last week:

Professor James Crill attended the Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology Conference where he presented on the Comparative Analysis of Authenticated Genomic and Phenotypic Data for Yarrowia lipolytica Reference Strains

Professor Mike Marciano was an invited speaker on the innovation panel at the 2024 ASCLD meeting where he discussed the future of single cell analysis in forensic science.

Congratulations Professor Deepika Das from our team for earning the prestigious One University Assessment Award in the Academic category! We appreciate your unwavering commitment and efforts towards the department's success!!

Check out our forensic photography class as they practice photographing a mock crime scene on campus!

Well done to our second cohort of master's students for effectively presenting their research projects! Fantastic work everyone!

Well done to the students in our newly launched course this semester: Research in Crime Scene Investigation! Your presentations on “The Efficacy of Bleach for Blood Decontamination of Crime Scene Equipment” and "Assessing the Detectability of Latent Bloodstains Using Bluestar® Forensic Following Hand-Washing and Heat Drying" were excellent, and your research efforts are truly commendable!

As we wrap up the school year, we extend our congratulations to our first group of master's students for successfully showcasing their research projects in their last semester! Well, done, everyone!

What a fantastic gathering, everyone! We extend our gratitude to the FSSA (Forensic Science Student Association) for hosting this wonderful end-of-school year celebration. A heartfelt congratulations goes out to all our graduating students!

Thank you, Carina Haynes! We appreciate your presentation on "Crime Scene Investigations – What you need to know before you start your career". It provided valuable insights to our students regarding the job search process and how to best prepare for it!

Tomorrow, we have our next guest speaker! Please join us in welcoming Carina Haynes to Syracuse University Forensics Department! She will be presenting on "Crime Scene Investigations - What you need to know before you start your career".

New job announcement for Thorton, CO!

The City of Thornton is !
We have regular, full-time positions including Criminalist, Instrumentation & SCADA Technician, and Technical Specialist. We are also hiring for a contract Co-Responder. Know anyone looking for a seasonal or temporary gig? We also have over 20 seasonal/temporary positions we are hiring for.
Visit www.thorntonco.gov/jobs to see all open positions and to apply!

Check out our students in the forensic and photography course taking photographs of footwear impressions!

Please take a moment to review the announcement featuring our distinguished faculty member Michael Marciano, Ph.D. who will be delivering a presentation titled "The Future is Now: Embracing Single-Cell Analysis in Forensic Science" for John Jay College (CUNY)! Register by clicking on the provided link or scanning the QR code below!

Thank you James W. Mikesell, Ph.D., ABPP for your presentation on "Best Practices to Violence Risk Assessment and Prevention in Schools: A Multilevel Approach”! Everyone found your presentation very informative!

Today we have our next guest speaker! Please join us in welcoming James W. Mikesell, Ph.D., ABPP to Syracuse University Forensics Department! He will be presenting on "Best Practices to Violence Risk Assessment and Prevention in Schools: A Multilevel Approach".

Please check out the insightful "ATCC Behind the Biology" Podcasts by our own Professor James Crill!

The second of the three-part series "From Stethoscopes to Petri Dishes - An Unconventional Path" can be found here:

Behind the Biology, Episode 14 Join in to hear Mr. James Crill discuss influence of his previous roles in government and industry on his current work and the unique challenges presented by mobile lab deployment.

Getting hands-on with forensic chemistry in the lab with Professors Das and Englich – because learning is more fun when it's hands-on! 🔬🎉

Discover how our course in Computational Forensics, led by Professor Filipe Lemos, is shaping the future of forensics by empowering students like Brianna Cardillo to think creatively and solve complex problems!

Machine Learning Gives Visibility to Underrepresented Authors College of Arts and Sciences graduate student Brianna Cardillo develops an algorithm in her computational forensics course to promote books by marginalized authors.

Please check out the insightful "ATCC Behind the Biology" Podcasts by our own Professor James Crill!
The first of the three part series "Microbial Detectives-Unraveling Bacterial Origins" can be found here:

Behind the Biology, Episode 13 Listen in to hear Mr. Jamie Crill discuss his research focus of microbial forensics, particularly the origins of bacteria and yeast.

Big thanks to Danielle Malone for her insightful talk on "Forensic Science at the NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner". Your presentation was incredibly informative for our students and a great way to introduce them to internships and more job opportunities!

Today we have our next guest speaker! Please join us in welcoming Danielle Malone to Syracuse University Forensics Department! She will be presenting on working in one of the largest DNA Labs in NY State!

Congratulations to Forensic Science Master's Student Rachel Teslak for being named a 2023-24 All-College Hockey America First Team defenseman. Way to go Rachel!

Teslak Earns All-CHA First Team Honors - Syracuse University Athletics Orange defenseman Rachel Teslak is a 2023-24 All-College Hockey America First Team defenseman. The Cranbrook, British Columbia native earned the honor af...

We extend our gratitude to Dr. Jonathan Jacobs for his enlightening lecture titled "Authenticated Genomics Data and How to Avoid Poisoning the A.I. Wellspring". Your presentation provided valuable insights for our students.

This Friday we have our next seminar speaker Dr. Jonathan Jacobs! Please join us and learn more about "Authenticated Genomics Data and How to Avoid Poisoning the A.I. Wellspring"!

To access the interview discussing the examination of former Virginia state lab analyst Mary Jane Burton's work on the podcast "Admissible: Shreds of Evidence," click the link provided and read the conversation with Director Kathleen Corrado conducted by the Virginia public media company VPM.

FNSSI Executive Director Interviewed by Virginia Public Media News Posted on: Jan. 17, 2024 Kathleen Corrado, executive director of the Forensic and National Security Sciences Institute, was interviewed by Virginia public media company VPM about the investigation of former Virginia state lab analyst Mary Jane Burton. Burton's work recently came into question on a p...

Thank you, Elizabeth Kubala, for your talk on "Military Justice 101: Investigations, Evidence, and Courts Martial Process". Your presentation was very informative about the military and civilian justice system to our students!