The Daily Bulletin Archive

Please join the Chemistry Department for the third seminar in its spring 2023 series, "Organic and Inorganic Explosive Material Detection in Crimes Scenes," presented by Justin Ramsey, M.S. forensic science student in SUNY Buffalo State's Chemistry Department, on Thursday, March 23, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Science and Mathematics Complex 176. 

Abstract
In this presentation about the composition of explosive detection, Mr. Ramsey will discuss in detail the importance of detecting these destructive devices. The origins and fundamentals of the common explosive are the starting point to discuss the principles of how they can be made and where they come from. He will then discuss one of the more common methods in forensics that have been used to detect these materials, giving knowledge of how those techniques hold value but lack in certain areas to where it might be crucial to determine what compounds could have made up that certain explosive. An explanation of how these limitations can be experimented upon as well as what to look for in more detail will be given, and a transition to his two methods of extrapolation for these materials will be the central feature of the presentation. He will then go into detail about how these two methods for explosive analysis can provide possible missing information that certain other methods alone cannot provide. This includes the specification of the additional piece of instrumentation that makes the two methods stand out from most other common methods. For example, it is common for forensic analysts to use ion mobility mass spectroscopy, but what would have the result been if a titration region had been incorporated into the instrumentation? A full experimental analysis will be demonstrated as an example for both methods, and a summary will tie everything together for the conclusion of the presentation.