Science Café

Hosted by: SciWorks and Reynolda Gardens of Wake Forest University

Science Cafés are free, informal talks that offer you a chance to learn about the latest research from a regional scientist.

Next Science Café

November’s Science Café is at 7 pm, Thursday, November 10, at River Ridge Taphouse, located at 1480 River Ridge Drive, Clemmons, N.C., 27012.

Topic: The Quest for Confirmatory Data in Crime Scene Investigations

Presented by: A Bakarr Kanu, Ph.D., Winston-Salem State University

In today’s complex world, a forensic chemist may prefer any physical evidence linking or exonerating a suspect from a crime scene to a false confession. This presentation will utilize forensic chemistry experimental approaches to present a unique perspective of certain facets of a crime scene investigation. Dr. Kanu will present data from modern techniques available in the field for analyzing evidence recovered from crime scenes. The data presented will be classified as either presumptive or confirmatory. Evidence such as fingerprints, bullets and casings, drugs, and DNA will be shown to possess individual characteristics and when properly processed and analyzed can be used to exonerate or convict a suspect. The discussion will also focus on two instrumentations classified as confirmatory test instruments in forensic analysis.