Students learn how to unravel crimes using forensics
Gene Trainor, MCT
Issue date: 4/8/09 Section: News
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The students are studying forensics-the application of science to understand potential criminal cases. During a recent afternoon, they worked in teams of two using laboratory equipment such as pipettes, microcentrifuge tubes and vortexers to carry out the procedure needed to separate semen from a woman's epithelial cells, a first step in unraveling a rape case. After the separation is complete, the DNA from each will be analyzed to produce profiles of the perpetrator and the victim, Ambers said.
It's all to help solve crimes and help families, students said. "DNA doesn't lie," student Kristina Raines said.
UNT has the only undergraduate program in Texas accredited by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, a Colorado-based professional group that promotes research and education. UNT's five 2008 graduates all received job offers, with starting pay ranging from $40,000 to $70,000 a year, said Teresa Golden, associate professor and the program's director. But the students all plan to get graduate degrees.
"I think most of them are interested in becoming lab managers or working higher up in their positions," Golden said.
TV PORTRAYALS
The students and their professors chuckle at the TV image of forensic scientists often portrayed by glamorous women in heels and designer clothing.
Most forensic scientists are women. But they wear laboratory coats and, often, masks. What's more, unraveling evidence in a rape case or identifying chemicals in a fire can take days to weeks - not an hour, Golden said.
"I think it's kind of fun to watch," she said of the television portrayal. "It's a lot more work than it shows on TV, but it is entertaining."
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