The Development and Implementation of a Summer Camp for High School

Students Based on the Applications of Analytical Instrumentation in Forensic

Chemistry

Jennifer Batten, Ph.D.Department Head of Physical SciencesGrand Rapids Community College

The Chemists at GRCC have two passions…….

•Instrumentation•Community Service

The original idea for the camp resulted from: After many years of offering day and week long

events for younger students, we wanted to offer more in depth content and hands on experience for older students who wanted to experience real world lab work.

We hoped to make a lab experience available to students who may not otherwise have access.

We felt that a GC-MS was needed at GRCC to offer our students a complete instrumental experience and using the instrument as part of community outreach is an important part of any NSF-TUES proposal.

The Camp Concept

The guiding principles of the camp activities included:

Hands-on use and theory of analytical instrumentation would be stressed

Inquiry based learning would be involved All activities would focus on a common goal Communication and teamwork would be

emphasized

Guiding Principles

The following scenario was developed for the week long camp:

For our camp, we would imagine that there was recently an arson crime in the Grand Rapids area.

The Sheriff’s office was seeking help in identifying an arsonist from a pool of five suspects.

During the week, evidence recovered from the crime scene and several suspect’s automobiles and homes would be supplied.

This evidence would include accelerant soaked wood, DNA, a hand written note, soil and fingerprints.

It would be the students task to analyze all of the evidence and make a report to the Sheriff’s Office.

 

The Camp Scenario

Getting ready for the Forensic Chemistry Summer Camp required 6 main activities:

Advertising and recruiting Selecting, testing and writing experiments Purchasing supplies Hiring high school teachers and GRCC students

to assist with the camp Communicating with attendees Working with GRCC Lab support staff on

materials needed per day and lab setup

Getting Ready- Camp Preparation

The application was developed with the following items:

Camp Description Pictures of the instrumentation Personal information-name, address etc. Photographic and campus roaming

releases Campus dining options Essay requirements

Advertising and Recruiting

The camp was advertised and students were sent the application through several routes:1. Science teachers in select inner city schools

were contacted first with the hope of reaching underserved students.

2. GRCC’s Communications Department later contacted the counselors in GRPS, the Head of Communications in GRPS and the MSTA Region 4 representative.

Advertising and Recruiting

13 Males and 27 Females

School Grade: 8th -3, 9th-9, 10th-10, 11th-16, 12th- 2

9 enrolled in GRPS, the others enrolled in outer area public and private schools

37 of the 40 students completed the week long camp

Nearly all students expressed a goal for a career in science in their essay

Two students were turned away because the camps were full

Student Profile

There are legal issues in running a summer camp for minors, including: Liability waivers in case of injury Express permission for older minors to leave

science building alone Background checks for all adults who will

be in contact with minor students Institutional Review Board approval if

student data is to be collected

The Legal Stuff

Three weeks prior to the camp start date, students and parents were sent the following information: Letter of welcome explaining the dress

code, parking, drop/off pick up, meeting place, lunch options, and poster session

Campus map with key points highlighted IRB Consent Form and Liability Waiver A camp schedule

Information for Parents

Day/Topic Monday, 7/15Ink Analysis by Paper and High

Performance Liquid

Chromatography (HPLC)

Tuesday, 7/16Soil Analysis by

Atomic Absorption

Spectroscopy (AAS)

 

Wednesday, 7/17Accelerant

Analysis by Gas Chromatography

/ Mass Spectrometry

Thursday, 7/18DNA Analysis by

Gel Electrophoresis

Friday, 7/19Finger Print

Analysis

9:00 a.m. Introductions, Scenario

Development, Poster and Notebook

Information, andSafety Rules

Theory of Liquid Chromatography

Soils Analysis and the

Theory of AAS 

Accelerants and

GC/MS Theory

Theory of DNA in Crime

Scenes and Analysis by Gel Electrophoresi

s

Theory of Fingerprint

Analysis 

10:00 Mobile Phase Determination Using Pens from Suspects

Soil Sample Preparation

Special Guest Speaker

Gel Preparation

Suspect Fingerprint

Collection and Analysis

 

11:00 Comparison of Ink at Crime

Scene to Pens Found in Suspect’s

Homes

Standard Solution

Preparation

Control and Sample

Preparation 

GC/MS of Arson Scene Wood

 

Sample Preparation, Micropipette Practice and Gel Loading

Completion of Posters and Presentation Practice- Who Committed the Arson Crime?

11:30 Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch and Camp Evaluations

12:00 p.m.

Analysis of “Best Match” using HPLC

Analysis of Soil Samples

and Standards Using AAS

GC/MS Data Collection

and Analysis

Data Collection, Gel Staining, and Data Analysis

1 p.m.Poster

Presentations(Friends, Family

and Teachers Invited )

2:00 Poster and Notebook

Preparation

Poster and Notebook

Preparation

Poster and Notebook

Preparation

Poster and Notebook

Preparation

 

2:30 Camp Ends Camp Ends Camp Ends Camp Ends Camp Ends

The Camp Schedule

Day 1: Ink Analysis by Paper (PC) and High- Performance Liquid Chromatograpy (HPLC)

Objectives:• Gain an understanding of polarity

and IMFs and their role in chromatographic separations

• Investigate various solvents for separations and explain the results

• Analyze ink from a note left at the crime scene using PC and devise a method to determine which pen wrote the note

• Use HPLC to further investigate the inks

http://www.personal.psu.edu/mkm20/111-arson.pdf

Day 2: Soil Analysis by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS)

Objectives:• Gain an understanding of the

interactions between matter and light

• Practice wet chemistry skills such as extraction, solution preparation and vacuum filtration

• Use AAS to analyze a mixture with several metals

• Create calibration curves and determine the concentration of Zn, Fe and Cu in soil samples

Fire Site        

Team #1 Team #2 Team #3 Team #4 Team #5 ONCE YOU HAVE YOUR CONC./GRAM DATA

Conc. Cu ((µg/mL)/g) 1.179 0.643 0.712 0.689 0.972 COME UP TO THIS COMPUTER AND ENTER IT IN

Conc. Fe ((µg/mL)/g) 2.032 1.298 1.052 1.708 1.135SO EVERYONE CAN SEE IT!!!!!

Conc. Zn ((µg/mL)/g) 0.774 0.772 0.791 0.787 0.805

Suspect #1 Suspect #2   Suspect #3 Suspect #4 Suspect #5

Team #1 Team #2 Team #3 Team #2 Team #6 Team #3 Team #4 Team #4 Team #5 Team #1 Team #5

Conc. Cu ((µg/mL)/g) 0.120 -0.059 0.168 0.176xxxxxxxx 0.701 0.632 -0.042 0.276 0.120 0.649

Conc. Fe ((µg/mL)/g) 0.012 0.757 0.907 0.820xxxxxxxx 1.048 1.399 1.661 0.703 1.812 0.868

Conc. Zn ((µg/mL)/g) 0.000 -0.053 0.210 0.250xxxxxxxx 0.774 0.678 0.253 0.247 0.405 0.624

Blank #1     Blank #2  

Team #1 Team #2 Team #3 Team #4 Team #5

Conc. Cu ((µg/mL)/g) 0.120 -0.054 -0.047 -0.084 0.008

Conc. Fe ((µg/mL)/g) 0.005 0.638 0.497 0.657 0.354

Conc. Zn ((µg/mL)/g) 0.000 -0.024 -0.108 -0.078 -0.014

A V E R A G E S

Fire Site Susp.

#1 Susp. #2 Susp. #3 Susp. #4 Susp. #5 Blank #1 Blank #2

Conc. Cu ((µg/mL)/g) 0.839 0.031 0.428 0.666 0.117 0.384 0.006 -0.038

Conc. Fe ((µg/mL)/g) 1.445 0.385 0.559 1.223 1.182 1.340 0.380 0.505

Conc. Zn ((µg/mL)/g) 0.786 -0.027 0.210 0.726 0.250 0.514 -0.044 -0.046

Data Management

Day 3: Accelerant Analysis By Gas Chromatograpy-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS)

Objectives:• Understand the role of accelerants

in arson crimes• Operate and understand very basic

theory of GC-MS• Prepare samples for headspace

analysis• Use MS data to determine which

accelerant was used to commit the arson crime

• Learn how canines assist investigators and scientists in solving crimes

Sodeman, D. A., Lillard, S. J. “Who set the fire? Determination of arson accelerants by GC-MS in an instrumental methods course”, Journal of Chemical Education, 78, 9, 2001.

Two Very Special GuestsDeputy Dale Dekorte from the Kent County Sheriff Department presented information on the use of accelerants in fires and the partnership between investigators and scientists in solving crimes. Deputy Dekorte and his partner, Ritzey, demonstrated how canines are used to collect evidence at potential arson scenes.

Day 4: DNA Analysis by Gel Electrophoresis

Objectives:• Understand how DNA is

used to identify criminal suspects

• Learn the basic theory of gel-electrophoresis

• Prepare agarose gels and load samples using micro-pipets

• Set-up and operated gel-electrophoresis equipment

• Stain and visualize the developed gels and use the information to select a likely suspect

Day 5: Fingerprint Analysis

Objectives:• Understand the basic

characteristics of fingerprints

• Practice dusting, lifting and analyzing fingerprints

• Match fingerprints to the potential suspects

Planning for the Poster Session included: Obtaining guest access for the campus Wi-Fi Having an old camera for the students to document their

week Setting up a Facebook page to up and download pictures Having laptop computers and a color printer available Purchasing poster boards and other supplies (spray glue,

construction paper, glitter etc.) Setting aside time each day for poster planning and

preparation and conclusion writing

Days 1-5: Poster Preparation

The Final Product- A Poster Session

Student Feedback

I liked using the GC-MS and actually getting to click on everything and see what was in it. We talked about it in my chemistry class a couple years ago, the teacher said well you’re not going to be able to use one until you’re in college. But, I actually got to do it and it was a lot of fun.

Apparently there’s a lot more work in forensics than what’s shown on TV.

Parent Feedback

My daughter attended the forensic camp and really enjoyed it. When she researched colleges offering forensic chemistry as a major there were not many to chose from. We were wondering if she would be able to major in something like general chemistry ?

I wanted to thank you for the wonderful learning experience. He really enjoyed learning new skills to solve the problems that were presented, along with making new friends.

Camp Supplies – $2000 Many of the materials purchased specifically for this camp

can be used again in future years. We estimate that costs for next year will be about $600.

Some of the more costly items included gas tight syringes, AAS standards, HPLC solvents, and the purchased DNA kits.

Staff- $4980 Each high school teacher was paid $1890 for 70 hours of

work. Each GRCC student helper was paid $600 for 60 hours of

work.

Camp Costs

Improvements for 2014

• Work to improve the HPLC analysis of the inks

• Provide suspect profiles• Write the scenario as a

newspaper article detailing the crime

The Team

Bernard Liburd, Ph.D. - Grant Co-PI

Julie Henderleiter, Ph.D.- Grant Evaluator, GVSU

Pam Scott – Lab Coordinator

Leah VanHartesveldt - Lab Assistant

Eric Pilko - Rockford H.S. Wayne Bickel -Ottawa

Hills H.S. David Greening and

Yasmine Walton-Durst- GRCC Student Workers

Information including this Power Point Presentation and the Camp Lab Manual with

Supply List can be found at:

http://grcc.edu/physicalscience

More Information

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science

Foundation under Grant Number DUE 1140509.

"Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are

those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science

Foundation."